The Fire Raged Hot
by Dilandra
Summary: Lord Dilandau fears nothing. Until he finds a young woman named Iris stowed away in his melef, seeking revenge upon him. Then the benign voice that's always been in his mind becomes stronger, louder, and Dilandau can no longer control it.
1. Part 1

THE FIRE RAGED HOT

Disclaimer: For cryin' out loud, of course I don't own Escaflowne. If I did, do you think I would have let it end the way it did? I don't think so…

The fire raged hot, singeing his body as sweat rolled down his face and between his shoulder blades. A sharp pain pinched into his left side and he turned, outraged.

Who had dared to touch his blade to him?

_You!_

Lunging forward, he plunged his sword deeply into the bastard who had dared to touch his unworthy sword to his flesh. Blood from the man who had scratched him sprayed onto his face and mouth; he licked his lips. The man fell forward as blood poured from his mouth, his eyes going dim as his torn heart stopped beating.

Dilandau laughed.

He felt his side, now sticky with blood. "You are an example of what happens to anyone who dares to touch me with their steel." Dilandau placed his armored foot onto the dead man's shoulder and shoved his sword from the man's body, smirking as the man fell back with a sickening thud. "Unworthy bastard." Dilandau mumbled as he stalked on towards the castle gates.

"Dilandau-sama!" Gatti called. "You melef is here and ready for you. All the dragonslayers are in their units and in position. What are your orders?"

Dilandau sheathed his sword and climbed up and into his red Alseides. As all of the controls snapped into place, Dilandau shivered with the anticipation of a few damn good fights as the protective gel spilled up and over his body.

"Dilandau-sama?"

Dilandau knocked Gatti's guymelef to the ground. "Patience, Gatti. The smell of their fear is strong in the air. Waiting for our attack will just make it stronger." Dilandau giggled sadistically. "Burn it," he said through the huge grin on his face.

"Sir?" Chesta asked carefully.

"BURN IT ALL TO THE GROUND!" Dilandau screamed as his guymelef crushed through the castle's gates and began incinerating everything in sight.

*****

Iris cursed as the room convulsed again, and more of the fragile roofing crashed down onto her head. Covering her head with her arms, she made her way down a hallway to where she could hear her younger brother screaming his little lungs out. Cinders and smoke from the burning city stung her eyes and choked her lungs. Wiping her long red hair from her eyes, she fought her way through the furniture as it dived and fell towards her. Truly it seemed as though not only whatever or whomever was doing this was against her, but her own home and furniture as well. 

"Dammit," Iris swore again as yet another piece of roofing fell on her. This one had a jagged edge, and it laid her forearm wide open. Disregarding her wounded arm, Iris threw her shoulder against the jammed door that stood between her and her screaming brother, Eric. "Eric, I'm coming! Hold on!"

"Iris! Help me!" He cried, sobbing.

Focusing all her strength, Iris gave up on her shoulder, and began kicking the door down. Finally it gave against her persistent foot and Iris ran into the room, kicking other broken furniture out of the way. Her foot connecting with something heavy, but not quite solid. Thinking it was some melting carpet, she continued to kick it out of her way. Then she heard a sickening crack. Iris looked down.

The face of her mother looked up at her, an expression of lifeless horror on her face that forever etched itself into Iris's memory. Her mother's hair had all been burned away, and her clothes were soaked in her own blood. The smell of burning flesh filled Iris's nose and made her wretch. A large and jagged piece of wood protruded from her mother's throat, obviously from one of the beams in the house that had splintered when hit with other burning debris.

Fighting the reflex to vomit, Iris swallowed her sobs when her brother's cries finally tore her eyes away from her mother's corpse. Stepping over her mother, and whispering a prayer for her immortal soul, Iris called out to her brother, trying to find him in all the ashes and smoke.

*****

****

"Dilandau. That will suffice. You've done more than enough damage to get Zaibach's message across." Folken's monotone voice ordered into Dilandau's ear.

Dilandau rolled his eyes and aimed his flame-thrower at another building, smiling gleefully as he watched it explode into bits.

"Dilandau! Return to the Vionne immediately. That is a direct order."

Dilandau growled. "They haven't learned their lesson yet! This entire town needs to be pulverized! How dare they threaten Zaibach!" Dilandau screamed and swung his guymelef's arm, knocking the roof off of the building next to him (which had surprisingly not been burned yet). 

"Dilandau, you have been given a direct order from a commanding officer. Follow it." Folken's voice was low and dangerous.

Dilandau closed his eyes in annoyance. Great. Now Folken was pissed and he would be punished. "Well," Dilandau reasoned. "If I'm already going to be punished, I might as well earn it." Dilandau laughed as he crushed one more building before ordering his Dragonslayers back to the Vionne.

*****

Iris coughed as she and her brother ran from shadow to shadow. She stopped short when a maniacal laugh filled the air. Iris gasped and pushed her brother behind her.

"Guymelefs," she whispered. She recognized the design right away, and her eyes narrowed in pure hatred. "Zaibach." She saw the guymelefs start to disperse, and was quickly overcome by blinding rage.

"Eric! Find shelter! I'll come back for you, I promise." She started towards the guymelefs. 

"Wait, Iris! Where are you going? You can't just leave me here! Where am I supposed to go?" Eric pulled Iris to a stop by grabbing her arm, his little blue eyes bright with panic.

"Eric, Aunt Cary and Uncle Stephen live only a day's walk from here. You can make it there, I know you can. Please, I have to go, they'll get away!" Iris pulled her arm from his trembling hands and ran towards the leaving guymelefs. 

"But Iris!" Eric sobbed.

Iris ran back towards him and grabbed his shoulders. "Listen to me, Eric. Listen!" She shook him a bit. "You have to be strong for me. Remember when daddy died and mama asked you to be strong for her? I need you to do that for me now. Mama is gone, and I can't be with you for a while."

"Why?" Eric hiccuped. 

"Because those bastards are not going to get away with it, do you hear me?" Iris gently shook his shoulders again. "Do you want them to just get away? To never pay for what they did to Mama, and our city?"

Eric looked down and shook his head. 

"Then I have to go after them."

"Why you? Iris!" Eric called her back when she turned to go.

"Look around you Eric! Who else is there? They are all gone. Everyone is gone! It is up to me. I have to go now or I will miss my chance." She kissed the top of his head quickly. "I love you. Get to Uncle Stephen's. You'll be safe. Goodbye." 

Iris hitched up her thin white nightgown and ran towards the last guymelef on the ground. It was different from the others, she noted as she sprinted towards it. A spark caught her eye, and she reached out her hand and snatched the dagger that was sticking out of a body on her way past. The red guymelef loomed in front of her and prepared to go into flight mode. 

"Oh no you don't," Iris said as she neared the great machine. "You are not getting away from me."

*****

Dilandau surveyed the destruction and felt a satisfied smile creep across his face. Assured that there were no survivors within reach, Dilandau switched his guymelef into flight mode, and prepared to take off.

Just before the two legs of his guymelef could snap together, Iris jumped up into the space between the two legs and was caught inside of the guymelef. She gritted her teeth and swore as she was jostled roughly around inside the small space, and the wound on her arm was opened further. 

Swearing, she ripped a band of cloth from her white, sleeveless nightgown and tied it tightly around the wound, crying out and getting a bit woozy when the shock wave of pain hit her. Then, she ripped another strip of cloth of and tied her newfound dagger to the outside of her thigh. Suddenly, the guymelef spiraled in the air and she heard a horribly frightening voice cackle. That was the last thing she would hear, as her body took a tumble inside of the small space and her head connected with the hard metal of the guymelef.

*****

Migel, Gatti, Chesta, and Dalet all climbed out of their guymelefs once they had docked them and clustered together on the deck of the Vionne, not relaxing until they saw the gleam of Dilandau's melef in the sky approaching the Vionne.

"Here he comes." Dalet spoke, and cleared the way for Dilandau's melef to lock into its holding place.

The red Alseides unit floated into position and locked in. Dilandau jumped out of his melef as soon as the gel had dropped away. The dragonslayers snapped to attention.

Dilandau was in one of his moods, they could tell that immediately by how hard and fast his footsteps were.

"D-Dilandau-sama?" Chesta stammered.

"What?" Dilandau snapped, not stopping as he walked past Chesta and the other slayers.

"I…I'm sorry, sir, but something is hanging from the bottom of your Alseides unit, sir. Shall I take care of it for you?" Chesta knew that no one was EVER allowed to touch Dilandau's guymelef without his absolute permission.

Dilandau turned and slanted an unhappy, annoyed look at his guymelef. He saw the piece of white material hanging from the bottom of the guymelef. Scowling, he walked over to it and yanked on the material. It seemed to be stuck on something inside. Grumbling, Dilandau climbed up the guymelef and leaned inside, deactivating the flight mode of the guymelef so that it stopped hovering and dropped heavily, the lock catching and holding the melef in place. The legs of the guymelef snapped open, ready to touch the ground, but with the lock holding it in place, the melef stayed suspended in the air, swinging. Yet, a sickening thump was heard.

The dragonslayers immediately went for their swords, ready to protect Dilandau.

"Dilandau-sama! Below you! A stow away in your melef!" Migel began racing forward and was followed closely by the other slayers.

"Hold where you are." Dilandau called out. He had been studying the stow away, and had concluded that it was a girl, and she was quite unconscious.

The dragonslayers stopped obediently. "Dilandau-sama! Be careful, he could be faking his condition." Gatti warned.

Dilandau knelt next to the girl and pulled back a bloody piece of her long red hair. An angry red gash still seeped right along her hairline. He snorted and dropped her lock of hair. "Highly unlikely this wound could be faked, Gatti. Even if it was, I'm hardly in any danger."

"Sir?" Gatti asked, not understanding.

"It's a girl." Dilandau stated simply, and rose from his kneeling position.

"What?" Scattered murmurs of disbelief came from the dragonslayers as they inched closer curiously. They all stooped down and stared, suddenly all quiet.

"What's with you all?" Dilandau smirked and walked towards his troops. "Never seen one before?" He stopped and looked Migel in the eyes. "Think she's pretty?" He asked, raising his eyebrows and snorting when Migel blushed. "Do you think she's beautiful?" he asked Chesta, laughing out loud when Chesta looked away in embarrassment. 

"Well," Dilandau said as he made his way back to the unconscious girl. "I promise you she'll be neither when I'm done with her." He drew his sword and raised it above his head, his eyes flashing as visions of what she looked like on the inside danced in front of his eyes. "Sleep tight," he giggled.

"Dilandau!"

"Arrrrgh! FOLKEN! Can't you see I'm busy?" Dilandau growled, never taking his eyes off of his prey.

"Don't harm that girl." Folken said as he descended the stairs.

"Why the hell not? She stowed away in my Alseides unit! I've killed people for a hell of a lot less…" 

"She could be very valuable to us. Much more so alive than dead." Folken inclined his head towards Dilandau's sword.

Dilandau rolled his eyes and sighed in disbelief as he sheathed his sword. " This is just fan-fucking-tastic, Folken. Now word is going to get out that Zaibach destroys cities for daring to even speak about rising up against us, but if you stow away in a Zaibach melef, and infiltrate our fortresses, all you get is a "naughty, naughty" and a slap on the wrist."

Folken ignored Dilandau's sarcastic remarks and knelt down, scooping the girl up into his arms. He turned to Dilandau and dumped her into his own arms. 

"What are you doing?" Dilandau asked incredulously.

"I am putting her under your protection. She could be very valuable for us, Dilandau, for Zaibach. It is important that you keep her safe. Take her to the slayer's quarters. I'll have an extra cot set up…next to yours." Dilandau thought he saw Folken grin as he turned his back and walked back up the metal stairs to the control deck.

"Folken! Get back here! I…" Dilandau trailed off angrily. He looked down at the girl that had been tossed into his arms. "Son of a…" he swore, the tossed the girl over his shoulder, being careful of his armor spikes, and carried her limp body to the slayer's quarters. 

As Folken promised, there was indeed an extra cot set up right next to his bed. And it was definitely _right_ next to. Dilandau shoved it back away from touching his bed with his foot, then tossed the girl down onto it. He narrowed his eyes at the girl, looking at her in complete contempt for even the air she was breathing. 

"Great. Now I have to look after this pathetic prisoner. When will Folken learn it is so much easier to just kill everyone?"

Shaking his head, Dilandau turned to leave the room. That was his first mistake. 

Iris opened her eyes and narrowed them at Dilandau's back. Sitting up, she ignored the painful drumming in her head, and pulled her dagger from its hiding place. Crouching quietly on the bed, she raised the dagger, grasping its hilt and preparing to spring.

Dilandau heard a sharp creak and stopped. Iris knew the creak of the cot had given her away, and immediately leapt at Dilandau's back, aiming directly for his heart.

Dilandau turned and grunted as she knocked him to the floor. Quickly gaining the advantage because of his strength, Dilandau forced Iris onto her back and grabbed the wrist in which she held her weapon. He banged it onto the hard floor, and Iris cried out in pain, dropping the dagger. 

She brought her knee up, ready to shatter Dilandau's family jewels, but Dilandau was ready for that. He smirked, hauling her up and twisting her arm painfully behind her back.

"Typical," Dilandau sighed in mock disappointment. "A female would rather disable a man with a move like that and run than truly fight."

"I assure you, I am far from the typical female." Iris promised, and shoved her elbow sharply into his ribs. When Dilandau bent double, she punched him square in his jaw with her free arm. She spun on him them, taking out his legs with a low kick. Dilandau fell hard onto his back, his breath knocked out of him. Iris retrieved her dagger and ran from the room.

"Bitch," Dilandau coughed and sat up, forcing air back into his lungs. He stood and took off after her, sword drawn, and eyes wild. He grinned. This girl was turning out to be surprisingly entertaining.

Iris knocked into Migel when she ran out into the hallway. She tried to shove him out of the way, but he recognized her and grabbed her forearms. 

"Hey, you're that stowaway!" Migel said, and tried to restrain her.

"Get your hands off of me!" Iris screamed as she tried to break free of his grasp. She raised her knee up quickly, and unfortunately for Migel, he did not see it coming as Dilandau had. He doubled with pain, and fell to his knees on the floor, holding his privates as if they would fall off if he let go. 

Iris ran aimlessly, completely lost. _All I want is to find him**.**_ She thought. _All I want is to find the melef pilot with that horrible laugh. The one that enjoyed destroying my country. And then I'll kill him._

Iris gasped and came to a stop when she had run out of running room. In front of her stood a huge door. She recognized it as a cargo door. Iris heard something behind her. She whirled around and swore loudly. 

Dilandau grinned. "Nice to see you too, sweetheart." He raised his sword. "You wouldn't disappoint me by coming quietly would you?"

"I'll die first." Iris growled quietly, narrowing her dark green eyes at him. 

"That a girl." Dilandau said softly, grinning and beginning to circle around her.

Iris's breath came quickly as she realized this man, er, boy really, would not hesitate to kill her. He circled back around in front of her, and his blazing garnet eyes caught her deep green ones, and Iris felt as if ice water had been poured down her spine. She shivered as a look of absolute hatred and amusement was sent her way. 

__

His eyes, his smile, everything about him is so cold.

Dilandau lunged at her.

A small sound escaped Iris's throat as she ducked under his sword and swiped at him with her dagger. Dilandau's sword blocked her and rattled the arm that held onto her dagger. Iris gasped as pain shot up through her arm. The wound from the jagged piece of roof was still fresh, and her skin tore and began to bleed again.

"Dammit," Iris said, knowing that the wound would weaken her and slow her down.

"Does it hurt?" Dilandau asked, mocking her.

Iris glared at him and Dilandau laughed. Iris's eyes widened as she recognized the laugh. 

__

Him. 

"Why are you doing this?" Iris asked him.

The question caught Dilandau off guard. "What are you talking about? You're the one who tried to put a dagger in _my_ back."

"No. Why is Zaibach doing this? Why did you destroy my country? Kill my people?" Iris choked back a small sob that tried to escape. "My mother?"

Dilandau rolled his eyes. "Because I didn't have anything better to do. Are you going to stand around and cry like a woman, or are you going to fight me?"

"Who ordered you to?"

"I don't have time for this…"

Iris screamed with rage and took Dilandau by surprise. She jumped at him, knocking him to his back. Dilandau's sword went clattering across the floor, and he felt the cold steel of her dagger pressing into his throat.

Dilandau raised his eyebrows. "Well, this is certainly a different situation than I have ever been in before…"

"Shut up! Tell me what I want to know. Who did the order to destroy my country come from? And why?" 

Dilandau's eyes narrowed dangerously. His pupils began to shrink slowly, and Iris felt the icy fingers of fear tickle up and down her spine. The look he was giving her was full of pure contempt and hate. "Do you know what happened to the last person who told me to shut up?"

Iris tried to swallow her fear. After all, she rationalized, I'm the one holding a dagger to _his_ neck, what can he do? 

She boldly pressed the tip of her dagger into his neck, nicking his flesh and causing a small dot of red blood to swell on the surface of his skin. "Tell me," her voice faltered as a cold smile spread across Dilandau's lips. "Now."

Dilandau smirked and brought his legs up behind Iris, catching her head between his ankles, he pulled Iris off of him, and cracked her head against the floor. 

Iris was nicely dazed by that move and by the horrible earthquake happening in her head. She was helpless as Dilandau stood over her. He picked her up by her throat and tossed her against a wall, pinning her there. 

Iris coughed and choked, her feet a few inches off of the floor, and clawed at Dilandau's leather covered hand to no avail.

"Stop thrashing. If I had wanted you dead you would have been so a long time ago. In fact, you almost were. If it hadn't been for that bastard Folken," Dilandau spat. He glanced at Iris, and noticed her lips were turning increasingly blue. He leaned in closer to her. "Listen and listen well. Folken may not want you dead, but you've certainly pissed me off enough to warrant your death. Therefore, stay the fuck out of my way while you are here, do you understand? Because I promise you that the next time you piss me off," He dropped her to the floor. Iris gasped for breath and rubbed her raw throat. "I will not be so generous."

Dilandau turned and walked away, his light laughter echoing in the large hanger, and mocking Iris's pain. 


	2. Part 2

Eric shivered as a cold wind blew down through the trees and up under his cloak. He had been walking for what seemed like weeks now, even if it had truly only been about three hours. He knew the way to his uncle's house. He had walked there twice a month to deliver fresh eggs with his mother.

That memory had tears welling up in the small boy's eyes.

"Mother…" Eric sniffed and refused to let the tears spill down his cheeks. He would be strong. He would make his father and sister and mother proud. He would avenge what Zaibach had done to his village and save all of Gaea from Zaibach's evil. 

As soon as he found himself one of those handy guymelefs that all the famous Knights had. Boy, what he could do with one of those.

While Eric fantasized about his heroic future, he stumbled off of the path to his Uncle's house. A loud crash of thunder shook the air and frightened him out of his daydream. Looking around, Eric quickly realized with a little panic that he was lost.

Trying to get his bearings back, the nine-year-old tripped and fell over something hard. Getting to his knees, Eric examined what he had fallen over. He flicked it with his fingers, and a low, metallic echo filled his ears. His eyes grew wide as he looked up, and saw a giant guymelef looming just beneath the canopy of treetops. Eric opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out as he scrambled backwards away from the melef. His hand connected with something sharp and he stopped, putting his cut hand in his mouth, and turning to see what had attacked him.

Eric found himself in the middle of a small campsite, and he had cut his fingers on the sword of a sleeping man. No problem there. That is, except the fact that the sword was connected to the sleeping man. 

Eric gritted his teeth and slowly moved away from the sleeping figure. He hid behind a bush, and peeked out at the man, wondering who he was, and why he had his middle all wrapped up in a white cloth like that. Then Eric saw the blood, and he realized that the man was not sleeping at all, but passed out from his injury. 

Eric, being an innocent, young, and naïve boy, decided it was his duty to save the sleeping man. Eric walked up and nudged his shoulder a bit. He tapped the sleeping man's face and tried to wake him.

"Hey! Hey YOU!" Eric screamed, an inch away from the man's face.

The man startled and jumped to attention. "Yes, Dilandau-sama…" he mumbled. 

"Dilly what?" Eric asked, amused.

"What, who the hell are you?" the man asked, but Eric could now see that he wasn't a man at all, and probably only in his teens.

"I'm Eric, and you're hurt."

"Who the hell is Eric, and what are you doing here?" the man asked grumpily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and gasping a bit as he sat up, gingerly touching his wound.

"I am Eric, and I am here to save you." Eric said importantly, beaming at the teen.

"Save me from what? What is going on? Where's Dilandau-sama?" the teen was very disoriented. 

"From your wound. You're hurt and I'm here to help, and I don't know who that is or where he is." Eric stated matter-of-factly, answering all of the questions in order.

The teen suddenly looked very tired and annoyed. "Go away," he growled, and got slowly to his feet.

Eric reached down to help, but was only shrugged off. "I said go away! Can't you hear?" 

"What happened to you? Is that your guymelef? Where are you from? Can I fly your guymelef? What's your name? Who is Dilandau-sama? Are you lost? How did you-" Eric began spitting out questions as he walked next to the boy.

"Shut up! What is wrong with you? Isn't your mother calling you or something?" the boy waved the younger one away, carefully shrugging back into his armored coat.

Eric's eyes bulged at the armored coat the boy shrugged into. "You are a soldier, aren't you?" the boy gasped, in complete awe.

"No, I am not a soldier. I am a Dragonslayer. Now leave me be before you really piss me off. I usually try to stay away from killing little kids but the mood I'm in right now-"

"A _dragon_ slayer?!" Eric gasped happily, all his childhood fantasies coming true. "You're a real, live dragonslayer? Wow!"

Eric began to follow the teen around while he packed up his gear and took it to the Alseides unit. The teen faltered for a second when his wound painfully reminded him of the reason for his fainting spell.

"Oh, Gods help me…" The teen moaned, his vision swimming again.

"Don't worry, they will. And so will I." Eric said importantly. "What is your name?"

"What?" The boy groaned; half out of it from blood loss.

"Your name. I told you I was Eric, now you tell me your name. That is how friends are made, isn't it?" Eric asked, grinning.

"Friends?"

"That's right. So you are…" Eric gestured with his hand.

"Viole…" the teen boy smiled, his senses losing him as he once again slipped into darkness. "I'm Viole…"

Eric sighed and turned Viole on his side, exposing the dragonslayer's wound. "We're going to be great friends, Viole, I know it. And then you can teach me to be a dragonslayer, just like you…"

****

Iris blinked her eyes open slowly, and waited for the pounding in her head to begin. When it did, she moaned and brought her hands up to her temples.

A voice off to her right chuckled lightly. "You should feel extremely lucky, young lady," the deep voice said.

Iris, in a rare mood, forgot to be afraid and scoffed. "What the hell could I possibly consider lucky about my situation?" she asked bitterly.

"You are alive," a tall man came into her view. He had spiky gray hair and a purple tear tattooed on his cheek. He wore a dark cape and his features were serious, although not hard. "Not many people who anger Dilandau as you have live to tell about it."

Iris's eyes narrowed. "He is who angered me. And it will be him that does not live to tell about it."

Again, the slight chuckle echoed through out the room. "I believe you both will have and interesting go of this."

"Where am I?" Iris demanded, and tried to sit up, only to find her wrists and ankles bound to the bed she was lying on. "What the hell? Hey! Who are you?" she yelled at the man. "Let me go! How dare you treat a prin-" Iris stopped herself and gasped. She had almost given herself away! "A…prisoner like this…" she finished lamely.

The man smiled. "Oh, and how should we treat our stowaways? Like guests, and thank them for their stay?"

"Uh, I only meant that…what I said was…" Iris stuttered.

"No need for lies, princess. We know exactly who you are."

Iris's cheeks flamed. "Then that is a worse crime on your part. Treating me like this after you know perfectly well that I am royalty. You'll be severely punished."

"You are in no position to be making threats, princess." A voice rang out from the doorway. 

Iris's eyes grew wide as she recognized the voice immediately.

_Him._

"Dilandau, what do you need?" The man asked.

"For you to leave, Folken. Quickly." Dilandau sneered at the taller man.

Folken walked closer to the teen, and warned him. "You will not harm this girl, is that understood?" he said quietly.

Dilandau's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You will not order me around. Is _that_ understood?"

Folken narrowed his own eyes back at Dilandau.

"I take my orders from Lord Dornkirk, and maybe General Adelfous if I am in a good mood. But _never_ you, Strategos, _never_ you." Dilandau pushed past Folken and slammed the door.

Iris closed her eyes and tried to remain calm. She was strapped to the bed, and completely and utterly defenseless. Not good at all.

Dilandau placed his hands behind his back and walked up behind Iris. He leaned down and placed his hands on either side of her head. "Well, what do we have here? Hmm?" he snickered. "A little defenseless bitch on a bed. Is this my lucky day or what?" Dilandau leaned down over her face, and Iris spat at him.

Dilandau blinked, and grinned. "Oh, you're a spirited one, you are." He walked from behind her and stopped at her side. "We'll have to see what we can do about that."

Wiping the spit from his face, Dilandau brought his other hand across Iris's face so hard, the impact split her lip wide open and snapped her neck to the side.

Iris whimpered a bit, but refused to cry out. Hot, involuntary tears began to fill one eye as the stinging pain set in. Her tongue gingerly slipped past her lips as she inspected the damage there. She tasted the blood, and shut her eyes tightly. She would never shed one tear in front of this boy. Never.

She turned her head back towards him, and glared at him, her eyes cold and filled with loathing. 

"I'll have to teach you manners, young lady." Dilandau laughed. "First, you stow away in my melef without even asking," he began, circling the bed as he spoke. "Then you attack me in my own fortress, and then you spit in my face. Tsk-tsk, princess. Is that any way for royalty to act?"

"How dare you speak to me about my actions when it was you who mercilessly slaughtered hundreds of men, women and children, and laughed while doing it." Iris said quietly, her voice dripping with rage.

Dilandau smiled. "Ah, yes. Your people. Well, it should help you to know that they did not die in vain…" Dilandau theatrically placed a hand over his heart as he stood in front of her, at the foot of the bed. "They provided a well needed stress reliever and a good hour of entertainment for me!" he finished, laughing.

"You BASTARD!" Iris fought against the restraints and longed to claw that grin off of his handsome face.

_Handsome?_ She scolded herself. _How can you even think of that horrible murdering monster as handsome?_

Dilandau smiled down at her, coming back to her side, and sitting on the bed. "Now, now. You'll hurt yourself struggling like that. Look, you already have, your wrists are all raw and bloody. That wasn't necessary at all."

Dilandau looked on the stand next to the bed and saw a syringe full of a blue-ish liquid. He picked it up and tapped the side, checking for air bubbles. "This is for your own good, _your highness_," Dilandau smirked as he grabbed onto her arm and squeezed, looking for a vein. "I don't want you to hurt yourself any more."

He leaned down and put his mouth next to her ear. "That's my job," he whispered, and smothered her screams of protest with his own mouth as he kissed her and slid the needle into her arm, pumping the drug into her body.

Iris struggled for all she was worth, and then felt the drug fill her body and overcome her strength. There was also something just as weakening about having Dilandau's lips on hers. She was repulsed at first, and then, just when other thoughts started entering her mind and she thought she might actually like the feeling he was causing in her, the drug pulled her down, and drowned her. 

Iris moaned softly in surrender to the drug and to Dilandau. He pulled away from her quickly, and backed away. He looked at his hand; it was shaking a bit. Dilandau disregarded that and tossed the syringe down, and walked from the room.

"Dilandau-" Folken began when he saw Dilandau quickly leave the room.

"Shut up, Folken," Dilandau snapped and pushed open the door to his room. Tossing his sword on the ground next to his bed, Dilandau flopped down on the huge mattress, staring up at the ceiling.

What had he been thinking, kissing her like that? What could possibly have possessed him to do such a thing? Women were not for him, he told himself. They were weak and annoying creatures.

He stripped off his armor and boots, and lay back with his hands locked behind his head. He closed his eyes and tried to force it from his mind. But the feeling of her lips on his would not let him forget.

__

I did it to silence her, that's all. Dilandau reasoned. 

Simple as that. He had done it so that Folken would not hear her cry out as he pushed the needle into her arm. 

__

Because she would have. She did. I felt her scream go into my mouth. I swallowed it. Because women are weak. She screamed…and I…

Dilandau growled and threw a glass that sat next to his bed against the far wall in frustration. The shattering sound made him smile as he relaxed a bit.

__

What am I worried about? I am the captain of the Dragonslayers and if I desire to kiss a woman I have every goddamned right to. Dilandau told himself. _ In fact, I feel like doing it again. I liked her...IT. I liked IT, not her, just the kiss. And I will kiss her again if it pleases me to do so._

"Damn straight," Dilandau muttered, and fell into the blackness of sleep.

While Dilandau slept, the feeling of her would not leave him. He dreamt. He dreamt of her. She sat in a sunny field of flowers, her red hair blowing gently in the wind. The whole scene would normally have sickened him, but he was fixated on her. She stood and smiled at him. How could he dream her smile? He'd never truly seen it…

"Come…" she beckoned. "Come closer, Master Dilandau…"

And he obeyed. Dilandau walked closer and lifted a hand to her. He touched her cheek and it was soft. She smiled again. That imagined smile. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. He hoped the smile was real, and that it would look like that when he really saw her smile. It was strange, to be able to think things like that in a dream. It was strange…

Suddenly Dilandau couldn't think at all. She was too close. It angered him; panicked him.

"Stop it…" he murmured to her.

"You don't want me to." She stated as she ran her hand through his silver hair.

"Yes, stop…please." Dilandau felt ill when that weak word came out of his mouth. He was pleading with her. Him, the Diabolical Adonis of Zaibach, was pleading with a _female_ to spare him. Not from pain or death, but from-

"Love me," she whispered against his mouth.

"No," Dilandau choked out, while leaning into her mouth.

She pulled away, her lips still touching his, but barely. Sweet torture. "Yes," she argued.

"I don't love, I only hate, I only destroy…" Dilandau said, his hands sliding up her sides.

"Love me," she insisted.

"I can't," Dilandau pleaded with her, trying to pull her closer to him. She was like a drug. He couldn't get enough. "Please, let me touch you…"

"Love me, Dilandau." She repeated.

Dilandau looked into her eyes, lost. "Yes," he whispered.

She smiled, and kissed him finally. Dilandau was lost. His mind swam with happiness. Then, the girl bit his lip.

"Hey," Dilandau tried to pull away, but she grinned at him evilly, pulled out a dagger, and plunged it into his back.

~*~*~*~*~

Dilandau sat straight up in bed, sweat running down his chest and back. He ran his hands over his face, shoving his hair out of his eyes. He pulled off the covers and swung his legs out off bed, putting his bare feet to the floor.

But it wasn't the floor he felt. Something warm and soft was under his feet. 

"What the hell?" Dilandau pulled his legs back up, whatever he had stepped on moaned.

"What the hell?" the feminine voice echoed Dilandau's disgust.

Dilandau flicked the switch to turn on the gas lamp in his room and waited for the spark to catch and light the stream of gas.

When it finally lit the room, two gasps echoed off of the walls.

"You!" they both yelled.

"What the fuck are you doing in my room?" Dilandau growled.

"Oh shut up. You put me here." Iris narrowed her eyes in disgust.

"What the hell are you talking about? Of course I didn't put you here. Why in gods name would I want you anywhere near me?" Dilandau sneered down at her.

"You didn't seem so upset to have me near you when you kissed me, you sadistic bastard."

Dilandau rolled his eyes. "I only did that because I knew you would be an annoying girl and scream. And I was right."

"I don't care why you did it, you had no right. How dare you force yourself on me like that?" Iris spat.

Dilandau narrowed his eyes and leaned over her face. "You should be careful what you accuse me of, _princess_. I wouldn't want rumors to get around that I had raped you. I hate rumors. I would just have to make them true, so they wouldn't be rumors anymore. Then I wouldn't mind." He leaned down closer. "Is that what you want?"

Iris closed her eyes and turned her head away.

Dilandau smirked. "That's better." He moved to get out of bed from the other side, changed his mind, and just stepped on her.

Iris coughed and curled herself around her bruised stomach.

Dilandau knelt next to her and jerked her arm up. She had been secured to the bed by a chain and a metal manacle around both wrists. He tossed her arms down, and growled.

"Goddammit, Folken." He whispered, and stalked out of the room.

"Hey! Where are you going! You just can't leave me here like this!"

"Shut up." Dilandau closed his door with a loud click and made his way to Folken's chambers. He banged on the door with his fist and screamed at Folken to get up. When there was no reaction after about three knocks, Dilandau raised his foot and kicked down the door. 

"Dilandau, so nice to see you." Folken griped sarcastically, squinting against the sudden invasion of light.

"Folken who the hell do you think you are?" Dilandau said quietly, dangerously.

"I suppose you found your new servant. Are you displeased with her? I thought you'd be happy to have another one. You've been complaining that you've had to do everything yourself since your last servant…disappeared."

"Servant? Her? No. Absolutely not." Dilandau crossed his arms.

"Why not? She's able bodied, is she not?"

"Why isn't she in the prison? I thought she was a prisoner."

"She is, the prisons are over crowded. Besides, she is in more danger down there than with you."

"Don't be so sure…"

"I've ordered you to not to hurt her. That order came from Dornkirk. If you want to cross him be my guest. I've done my job. It's you he'll go after." Folken shrugged and rolled over in his bed, preparing to go back to sleep.

"You're lying. Lord Dornkirk never ordered that." Dilandau raised his eyebrow.

Folken sighed. "Do you really want to find out?"

Dilandau yelled in frustration and punched the wall and kicked the broken down door out of his way before walking out the doorway.

Folken shook his head and went back to sleep.

Dilandau let lose a loud string of curses all the way back to his room. Gatti opened his door and squinted at Dilandau. 

"Is everything all right, Dilandau-sama?" he asked.

"Just fan-fucking-tastic, Gatti. Go back to sleep." Dilandau ordered, not bothering to look at the slayer while passing him to go back to his room.

Gatti yawned. "Yes, sir." 

Dilandau shoved open the door to his room and stalked back to his bed.

"Well? What is going on?" Iris demanded.

"Shut up!" Dilandau yelled as he stepped on her again and got back into bed.

"Tell me!" Iris demanded.

"If you make another sound I will cut your vocal chords out. Go to sleep." Dilandau ordered.

Iris began to protest, but then Dilandau picked up his dagger and placed it next to him in his bed, and she remembered whom she was talking to. Iris closed her mouth and rolled over on the cold, hard ground, determined to plot Dilandau's death until first light. Exhaustion won however, and she was eventually lulled to sleep by Dilandau's deep, even breaths. And she dreamt…

Iris stood in the middle of a wide, beautiful field. Her hair was loose, and it glided in the wind. She held a bouquet of wild flowers in her hand. A figure walked towards her and Iris squinted to see who it was. 

Definitely male, she thought. He wore armor and a long sword at his belt. As the man walked closer, she caught the glint of the sun off of his silver hair, and she knew it was Dilandau. Yet she was not afraid. She was not angry either. She actually felt…better. A certain state of calm overtook her as he came closer. 

_What's wrong with me?_ She scolded herself. _I should be taking off the other way. Yet here I am grinning like an idiot while he walks closer. _

Iris handed him the flowers when he was within reach. She immediately swore at herself for that, but it seemed she had no control over what her body did. She could only watch in horrible confusion as she reached out and took Dilandau's hand. He took a flower from the bunch she had handed him and placed it behind her ear. He dropped the rest and took her other hand, gently pulling her closer.

Again, she watched helplessly as her arms went around his neck and his around her waist.

"Iris…" he whispered.

"Stop this," she fought. She found she could control her voice, if not her body. She was pulling him closer while telling him to back off.

_Great._ Iris mentally rolled her eyes. _Talk about mixed messages…_

"No, Iris. You don't want me to stop." Dilandau stated as he lifted her chin with his hand.

Iris's heart began to pound; half with fright because she was not in control of the situation, and half because Dilandau's mouth was so close to hers.

"Yes, this isn't right," Iris protested, while lifting her lips to his.

Dilandau kissed her. "It feels right," he breathed against her lips.

"Yes…" Iris gave in and kissed him again.

Dilandau tossed in his sleep. His features twisted into confusion as the dream unfurled in his mind…

His body disobeyed him, he wasn't in control, and that infuriated him. His mind fought as his body put its arms around Iris's waist and pulled her deeper into the kiss.

_What the hell is going on?_ Dilandau thought. _Why can't I move? Why can't I control my own body? Why am I kissing her? Why…_ Dilandau's mind began to cloud over as his tongue slipped into her mouth of it's own accord. _Why does this feel so right…?_


	3. Part 3

Dilandau rolled over in his bed, plagued by the dream, and his arm fell over the edge of the bed and his hand brushed Iris's cheek. It was enough to wake her from the dream.

Iris gasped and her eyes shot wide open. She felt a sensation against her face, and she reached her hand up to see what it was. Her fingers curled around other fingers, and she quickly released the hand as soon as she realized what it was, and whom it belonged to.

Dilandau's eyes cracked open; he was trained to awaken fully, but to seem still deep in sleep. His senses were wide-awake, however, as he felt feminine hands on his own hand, and on his arm. His arm was slowly and carefully lifted up, and placed back on the bed.

Iris didn't breath until his arm had been replaced, and she was carefully laid back down. And even then she breathed as quietly as possible and kept her eyes and ears open, waiting for any movement or the slightest sound. 

She heard one.

Iris inhaled sharply and squeezed her eyes shut. Dilandau's bed creak as he sat up. He swung his legs over the side, and Iris winced, waiting to be stepped on. He stopped, however, and Iris cracked open her eyes slowly. She saw him sitting over her, his arms on the edge of the bed. It was like he was considering her. He shook his head and stepped over her. He picked up his black leather pants and slipped them on over his sleeping shorts. He walked towards the door, and Iris opened her mouth, ready to call out, then thought better of it, remembering his threat earlier in the night. She rolled over then winced at the sharp pain in her wrist. Her hand was completely numb by now, and her wrist was cramping something awful. She rolled over as best as she could, and tried to fall back asleep.

Dilandau walked to the melef bay and leaned against the wall beside the open launching door. The breeze played through his silver hair, and Dilandau took a deep breath of the cool air, trying to clear his head of the dream.

"What the hell was that anyway?" Dilandau ran a hand through his hair and down his face.

"You know very well what it was," An airy voice whispered behind him.

Dilandau turned around, and saw Iris walking towards him. "What the…? How did you get that cuff off?"

"Dilandau…" Iris whispered, raising her hand towards his face.

"What is going on?" Dilandau whispered, confused beyond belief. He saw her touch his face; he knew her hand made contact, yet he didn't feel anything. He raised his own hand to feel hers, and his hand went right through hers. He looked up at her, and she disappeared right in front of his eyes. 

Dilandau let out a shaky breath. "What the fuck is going on? What did she do to me? Why can't I get her and that damn dream out of my head?!" Dilandau screamed. He punched the wall of the Vionne. "She knows," he thought. "She's done this. I won't let her get away with it." With that, he took off towards his room, towards Iris, and towards answers.

****

Eric hummed as he maneuvered the guymelef through the woods. He was very proud of himself. He had remembered everything his Uncle had taught him about melefs; well about his Uncle's melef anyway. This one was a bit more complicated, but he had figured out how to operate the arms, hands, and how to walk. He knew the model had a flight mode, but he hadn't figured out how to operate it yet.

Eric moved the melef through the woods and carefully checked his new friend who he held in the melef's hand. Viole had passed out cold and hadn't moved for about two hours. Eric thought he would get to his sister now. He knew the melef he was in was the same as the one she'd hid away in, only a different color. He figured he'd just backtrack by following the melef's footprints from where they came from, and when Viole woke up, he could take Eric to Iris.

An actual Guymelef. He actually had a real, live guymelef. Eric nearly giggled with delight. 

Well, not technically _had_, Eric supposed. It did belong to Viole. But Eric had it now, because Viole wasn't awake yet. He'd give it back when Viole came around.

Viole moaned quietly and picked that moment to come around. His feet dangled, and it took him a while to get his bearings. He was in a melef hand.

His eyes shot open wide. He snapped his head around, and immediately recognized the melef as his own. 

"What the…?!" Viole turned his body in the hand, and tried to get out. The hand held him too tightly for that. Not uncomfortably tight, he wasn't hurt, just safely tight, so he couldn't fall. "Hey! Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my melef?" Viole shouted.

The melef stopped, and the faceplate opened revealing a seven-year-old boy.

"Don'tcha 'member me, Viole? I'm Eric! I'm the brave boy who saved you!" Eric grinned at Viole proudly.

"You have got to be kidding me. Put me down!" Viole ordered. 

"Ok, no problem." Eric loosened his grip on Viole, and Viole slid out of the melef's hand. 

Viole shouted and grabbed onto the melef's fingers in order to save himself from plummeting to the ground. "I said _put_ me down, not _drop_ me!" 

"Oops, sorry." Eric slowly lowered the Alseides' hand and placed Viole on the ground.

Viole sighed and straightened his armor jacket. "All right, out." Viole ordered.

"Are…are you sure you're ok to operate this? I mean, you are injured still."

"Out!" Viole shouted, getting impatient.

"Ok, ok. You don't have to yell at me." Eric whined and climbed out of the Alseides unit. 

Viole rolled his eyes and walked up to the kid. "You're lucky I don't kill you for what you did, kid."

"What do you mean? I helped you!" Eric protested, pouting.

"You stole my Alseides unit and almost killed me who-knows how many times while I was unconscious, not to mention almost dropping me to my death." Viole growled.

"That was an accident! I said I was sorry." Eric's lip began to tremble and he looked at his feet.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, kid. Now beat it, and don't ever tell anyone about my Alseides unit or me you hear? If I find out you opened you mouth, I will come back here and kill you." Viole grinned as Eric's eyes went wide. Scaring the kid wouldn't hurt anything, he thought.

Then the kid started sniffling and hiccuping. Viole rolled his eyes. "Now what's your problem? You gonna stand here and cry like a female or are you gonna get like I told you to?"

"It…it's just…*sniff* how am I gonna *hic* find my sister now?" Eric rubbed at his wet eyes.

"How the hell should I know, kid? Look for her." Viole turned to go.

"I was *hic* gonna! But how can I when I don't know where you keep your melefs *sniff?"

Viole stopped. He turned around and narrowed his eyes at Eric. "What did you just say?"

"My sister. She jumped into one of your friend's melefs after our city was destroyed. She said she was going to get revenge. I need to find her!" Eric cried.

"She stowed away in an Alseides?" Viole shouted.

"Yeah. It looked like yours, only it was red." Eric rubbed his eyes again as he began to calm down. 

"Red? She stowed away in Dilandau-sama's melef?!" Viole said incredulously. 

"The red one. Yeah."

"I have to warn Dilandau-sama," He turned to go, but then changed his mind and grabbed Eric's arm, tugging him along behind. "You're coming with me."

****

Iris gritted her teeth as she tried to pull her wrist from the semi-loose shackle that held her to Dilandau's bed. It was no use. It was loose, but not big enough to get her hand out without dislocating her thumb. She'd seen it done, but didn't have the stomach to do it to herself.

Iris rolled onto her back and sighed. Perhaps the rest of her arm would just go numb and then she could sleep. Iris closed her eyes. 

__

Eric. 

She thought of her brother. _How are you? Where are you? Are you safe?_ Iris squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to let them fill with tears. _Why was I so irresponsible and naive? What did I truly think I would accomplish? _

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." Iris sighed out loud.

"I certainly hope you are not talking about me." 

Iris's eyes flew open to see Dilandau standing over her. He squatted next to her, his arms draped over his knees as he stared at her.

"Don't flatter yourself." She hissed, and turned away from him. 

He grabbed her shoulder and forced her back towards him. "I'm not, you know."

"What are you talking about?" Iris asked, feigning annoyance in order to hide her fear of him.

"I'm not stupid. I'm very intelligent. I know what you are and I know what you are trying to do. It won't work."

"Oh? Do tell." Iris rolled onto her side and held her head up with her arm, her other arm draped across her waist.

"You're trying to distract me. You are planting images and ideas in my mind through dreams. You may as well knock it off. Simple distractions like that don't work on me." Dilandau rose and walked around the other side to get into his bed. "Besides," he said, leaning over the side of the bed once he had gotten back under the covers. "You just don't do anything for me."

"What in great mother of Gaea…" Iris trailed off. _Mental images? Distractions? The dream!_ "Wait a minute, are you trying to say you had that dream too?"

"Don't play dumb with me Iris…"

"Dilandau, I don't have any powers. I never have had and never will have. I'm just a plain girl, not a witch. I didn't plant that dream in your head, but, I had it too…" Iris trailed off, blushing at the memory.

Dilandau narrowed his eyes at her. "You lie."

"How would I know about the dream?" Iris argued.

"Because you created it to distract me!" Dilandau stated.

"But, that's impossible. I don't know the first thing about 'creating dreams'! I swear to you that-"

Dilandau scoffed. "Like your word means anything to me."

"But-"

"Shut up. Go to sleep. I'll most likely kill you in the morning."

"But I thought that Folken guy said-"

"What Folken doesn't know won't hurt him."

"He'll notice that I'm not here."

"I'll tell him you ran away."

"You'll be punished," Iris shot back.

"It would be worth it."

"You are an asshole."

Iris heard Dilandau chuckle. "No Iris, I am much worse than that."

*****

The next morning, Iris woke up to a huge headache and someone shaking her shoulder.

"Miss Iris? You have to get up, Dilandau-sama's orders." The young boy's voice said in her ear.

"Dilandau-sama can kiss my-" 

"Iris." A deep voice called from the doorway. "You are to get dressed and report to the mess hall immediately. There has been a change in your position. You will be given more information later."

"Was that…?" Iris squinted at the doorway as the man left.

"Folken-sama." The boy informed her. "You'd better get up, Dilandau-sama is in one of his moods this morning, and it's not a good one."

"I truly do not believe he has the ability to be in a good mood. Who are you?" Iris asked when her eyes cleared.

"I'm Chesta. One of Dilandau-sama's dragonslayers." He added proudly.

"You mean one of his little followers," Iris rolled her eyes and sat up.

"We're not only his followers but his soldiers." Chesta argued, leaning over Iris to unshackle her wrist. "It is a very prestigious honor to serve him. And we treat it as such."

"I've noticed. Now, where are these clothes I am supposed to get dressed in?"

"You'll find your uniform in the dorm's closet."

"Uniform? What dorm?" Iris asked, confused.

Chesta smiled. "Follow me."

*****

_Earlier that morning…_

"She's to be WHAT?!" Dilandau shouted, standing up so fast that he knocked his chair over.

"You heard me, Dilandau. You witnessed her fighting skills first hand. It would be a waste to have her as your servant. Zaibach could make better use of her skills if she joined your dragonslayers. She's not been given a choice in the matter. You haven't either." Folken never looked up from the paperwork he was studying.

"The dragonslayers are MINE to command. _I_ choose them, and _I_ train them. I do not want that _princess_ on my dragonslayers! This is unacceptable!" Dilandau slammed his fist down on Folken's desk, demanding his full attention.

Folken didn't blink an eye. He merely slanted a bored look at Dilandau. "The decision has been made. Deal with it, Dilandau."

Dilandau snarled and broke a chair against the wall before he left.

*****

Dilandau brooded over his breakfast. The other slayers were wary of his mood and stayed quiet, eating their breakfast quickly and trying not to make eye contact with their pissed-off captain.

They looked up, however, when the mess hall door opened, and most of their mouths hung open in shock when they saw Princess Iris walk into the room in full Dragonslayer uniform. Miguel made the mistake of dropping his spoon and received a dirty look from Dilandau as it clattered to the floor.

Iris gulped, and held her head up proudly. While inside, she had never been so scared in her life. She looked everywhere but at Dilandau as she made her way towards an empty table. Just because she was forced to be part of them did not mean she had to like them or befriend them. She refused, as a matter of fact. These people burned down her country and killed her mother, after all.

Dilandau narrowed his eyes and pushed back his chair. If she was going to be in his slayers, she had to learn a few things.

The only sound in the entire room was the sound of Dilandau's footsteps as he made his way over to Iris. Every other slayer in the room was holder their breath, and so was Iris. She knew exactly whose footsteps those were, and that they were coming for her.

"Too good for my slayers, Princess?" Dilandau mocked, stopping directly behind Iris's chair.

Iris stiffened in her chair, sitting up board straight, but she didn't answer.

Dilandau kicked her chair out from under her, sending Iris sprawling to the floor. She caught herself on all fours, and still refused to look at Dilandau.

"That brought you down a couple of levels didn't it, Princess? Now maybe you can be among us non-royalty." Dilandau whispered dangerously.

Iris simply sat up, her hands on her knees, and waited, silent, and still refusing to meet his gaze.

"Get up," Dilandau ordered. "And follow me."

"Where are we-" Iris didn't get the question out when suddenly the back of Dilandau's hand connected with her cheek. Her head snapped sideways and she fell onto her side. Stunned, she held her cheek and stared.

"Don't ever question me. Understand? Now, get up, and follow me." Dilandau turned and walked out of the mess hall. Iris stood, and walked after him, her hand still on her bruised cheek.

He stopped in front of two metal doors, and pushed a red button on the wall. The doors slid apart, and he walked in. Iris followed, looking around as she went.

"This is the training room." Dilandau stated, walking over to the far wall and picking up a sword. He tossed it at her, and she caught it by its scabbard. "If you are going to be a dragonslayer, you must be a master swordsman. And that means you will be spending all of your time here. Training. I won't have any liabilities in my dragonslayers, is that understood?"

Iris nodded.

"I said, is that understood?" Dilandau asked again, grabbing Iris by the neck of her armored jacket and picking her up so her toes dangled on the floor.

"Yes, Dilandau." Iris said quietly.

Dilandau threw her to the ground. "Dilandau-SAMA." He corrected.

Iris winced. "Yes, Dilandau-sama,"

Dilandau stood with his hands on his hips. "I will send a few of my slayers in here to help you learn the training drills. You will follow their instructions to the letter. Understood?"

"Yes, Dilandau-sama."

Dilandau smirked. "Good. A fast learner. You have a week to train. After a week, you will be put through a tournament where you will fight all of my slayers and finally me. If you perform to my satisfaction, then you will live. If I am disappointed, you will not. Is that understood?" Dilandau walked to the doors of the training room and turned before leaving.

"Yes, Dilandau-sama." Iris whispered.

"Good. Training begins immediately. See you in a week, _princess._" Dilandau smirked as the doors slid shut behind him.

****

"I am Viole of the Dragon Slayer unit, commanded by Captain Dilandau Albatou." Viole called out his rank and position to the guard at the gate and waited for his clearance. 

"Well, well, well. They've been looking for you, son. Welcome back." The gates swung open, and Viole narrowed his eyes. He stopped his guymelef by the guard and turned to look at him.

"Don't call me 'son'." Viole stated, and then brushed his melef's shoulder past the wall and the tower shook. The guard shouted and pitched off headfirst towards the ground. "Oops," Viole grinned.

"What'd ya do that for? He was being nice to you." Eric asked, his eyes wide as he looked at the motionless body of the guard far below.

"What did I tell you about making a sound?" Viole growled.

Eric shrunk back and lowered his head.

Viole maneuvered his melef inside the Zaibach base and jumped out. He made sure Eric was securely tied to the inside of the melef, told him not to make a sound, and walked inside of the center camp.

"What can we do for you, soldier?" A man in green armor asked.

"I need to know the location of the Vionne. I must return to my duties and my Captain."

The man pushed a few buttons, then wrote some numbers on a scrap of paper. "Here you go, these are the closest coordinates of where the Vionne was last. It shouldn't be far from there."

Viole examined the numbers. It wasn't far from the base at all. "Thank you, sir." Viole jogged back outside and climbed back into his melef.

"Where are we going now?" Eric asked.

"To my master, Dilandau-sama. I suggest you hold your tongue in front of him." Viole grinned and switched his melef into flight mode. They took off into the sky.

_I'm coming, Dilandau-sama. I'm almost home…_

*****

An hour later, Viole docked with the Vionne and jumped out of his melef. He carried a still tied up Eric over his shoulder as he made his way towards Dilandau's throne room, excited and nervous all in one.

"Dilandau-sama, an Alseides unit just docked with the Vionne, sir." Chesta reported, once being given permission to speak.

"An Alseides? Who left without my permission?" Dilandau shouted, sitting up in his throne.

Chesta winced. "N-no one, sir. We believe it may be Viole, sir. He's been missing ever since we destroyed-"

"Viole?" Dilandau said quietly, as a little weight in the back of his mind lifted at the knowledge of his slayer being home safely. 

"Yes, Dilandau-sama."

"Bring him here," Dilandau ordered.

"Right away, sir." Chesta bowed then left quickly, running to fulfill his lord's orders.

Viole walked quickly toward his unknown fate. 

"This could be good," he reassured himself. "Or this could also be very, very bad."

"Viole!" Chesta jogged down the hallway and jumped on his friend, hugging him and slapping him on the back. "You're back! I'm glad you're safe!"

Viole blushed and tentatively hugged Chesta back. Chesta had always been the most openly affectionate slayer. "Thanks, Ches. I'm glad I'm back safe too." Viole joked.

"I'll ask you what happened and why you're dragging that kid along with you later. Dilandau-sama has asked to see you." Chesta began leading the way towards the throne room.

"Is he pissed?" Viole winced.

"It's hard to tell. At first he seemed relieved when I told him your Alseides had docked." 

"Really?" Viole grinned.

Chesta nodded. "But after that, when he told me to bring you to him, he was hard to read."

"He's impossible to read for everyone else. I don't know how you do it Chesta."

They both stopped in front of the door to the throne room. 

"Here we are. Good luck, and welcome back." Chesta slapped Viole on the back once more. Then turned and marched away.

Viole took a deep breath. Eric looked up at him. "Why are you so scared of this Sama guy?" he asked.

"Keep your mouth shut or you will find out." Viole straightened his shoulders and walked forward as the door slid open. He knelt about ten steps into the room, forcing Eric to the ground with him. "Dilandau-sama," he almost whispered, straightening but not lifting his eyes. 

"Viole." Dilandau stood and walked to a table that was occupied by a bottle of vino and he picked up a glass. He poured himself some vino and stepped down the steps towards Viole. He sipped from the glass, never taking his eyes off Viole. "Well?" he asked, licking his lips. 

"My Alseides unit was damaged sir. I was wounded-"

"You still are." Dilandau pointed out, his eyes flickering to the red stain on Viole's shirt.

"I was unconscious for about a day, I believe. I can't remember exactly. When I awoke, I traveled to the nearest Zaibach camp to find the coordinates of the Vionne, sir. I was given them, and now I am here." Viole finished, sweat trickling between his shoulder blades.

"Yes, now you are here. And we are all so happy to have you back." Dilandau's grin dripped with venom as the back of his had flew through the air and connected with Viole's face. "How could you allow yourself to be shot down by those simpletons?" He shouted. "Are you a dragonslayer or are you a moron?"

"A…a d-dragonslayer, sir. It won't happen again." Viole stood up straight again, blinking away the tears the slap had brought immediately to his eyes.

"It had better not." Dilandau sipped from his glass again, and for the first time his eyes rested on the little boy beside Viole. "Who the hell is this?"

"A boy, sir." Viole immediately winced at that.

"No fucking fooling, Viole?" Dilandau shoved Viole to the ground. "I can _see_ that you idiot. _Who_ is he, and _why_ is he here?"

Viole stood up quickly. "He was snooping around my camp when I awoke, sir. He has-"

"I wasn't snooping! I was helping you!" Eric protested.

Viole cuffed him over the head. "I told you to keep your mouth shut." He grated out. "He said he saw someone climb into your Alseides unit, sir. He says a girl climbed into your unit and stowed away inside. Perhaps you had better check-"

"My sister! She's in you melef! You've got to get her out, she'll starve or suffocate or something!" Eric attached himself to Dilandau's leg.

"Get away from Dilandau-sama you little brat!" Viole shouted and tried to pry Eric off of him. "I'm so sorry, sir, I'll take care of this…"

"Enough, Viole!" Dilandau shouted. Dilandau grabbed Eric and squeezed him by his shoulder blade and his collarbone, causing Eric to squeal in pain and release his leg. He grabbed the boy's collar and picked him up, holding him in front of his face. "What is your sister's name, boy?" he hissed.

"I-Iris. Please mister, I can't b-breathe…" Eric choked, his face turning red as Dilandau smiled.

"So, you are the young prince of a destroyed country." Dilandau tossed the coughing and sputtering boy down, still grinning. "Oh my. The game has just gotten a lot more interesting."

"Dilandau-sama?" Viole looked at his leader, wondering what to do.

"Take the boy and lock him up. Then get the necessary repairs to your melef unit and to yourself. I have some things to take care of." Dilandau cackled and walked out of the throne room.

Viole hauled Eric up and over his shoulder. "Let's go twerp."

"Viole?" Eric asked, trembling.

"What?" Viole spat, annoyed.

"Is that guy gonna kill me?"

"How should I know?" Viole dodged the question, feeling a pang of something inside of his gut.

"Will he kill my sister?" the boy asked quietly, his tears wetting Viole's back.

Viole shut his eyes and sighed, continuing on his way to Eric's cell. "I don't know, kid, alright? I just don't know."

Viole ignored the sensation beginning deep inside of him when Eric began to silently cry harder.


	4. Part 4

Iris squeezed her eyes shut suddenly as her sweat poured into them and stung. It was the wrong moment to shut her eyes.

Miguel took advantage of her sudden blindness and knocked her sword from her hands, sending it and her clattering to the floor. Iris held her stinging hand to her chest and hissed in pain. She looked down at the long cut across the top of her hand. She narrowed her eyes at Miguel.

He grinned at her. "Oops."

"You did that on purpose!" Iris accused, standing to retrieve her sword.

Miguel shrugged, the grin dropping off of his face. "You did it to yourself. Shutting your eyes during a sword fight is not the smartest move I've ever seen. Although it isn't the dumbest thing you've done. Not today anyway," The sardonic grin twisted his mouth again.

"Well excuse me for not being perfect. This is only the fourth time in my life I've handled a sword. Yesterday being my second and third, I don't think I'm doing too bad." Iris stuck out her chin and raised her eyebrow at Miguel.

"Yeah, well I don't appreciate you making stupid mistakes like that when I've spent two whole days with you in this training room. When I give up my time, I expect to get something good in return. So stop screwing up and get these drills right!" Miguel shouted, obviously frustrated. He took a deep breath and got into the ready position, crooking his finger at Iris. "C'mon, let's go again."

Iris took a deep breath and raised her sword, her arms screaming at her to let them rest, her entire body begging for mercy. Iris refused to stop until she had learned the drills and had them down to perfection. Her intention was not to please Dilandau; no far from it. 

She wanted to beat him. 

She knew she had a long way to go, but she still had four more days to train, and she was a fast learner.

"Good," Miguel encouraged when she blocked his well-aimed thrust at her mid-section. "Now counter, harder! That's it, keep it coming. Don't just hack at me, aim for something. Whoa!" Miguel ducked when he had blocked her thrust at his head and her blade had stopped inches from his left eye. He grinned and shoved her back. "That's more like it."

The drills continued like this as Dilandau watched from an observation deck just above the fight. Iris improved almost every minute. He could see her thinking; he could see that she had already developed a certain style all her own. 

She was good at this dance.

Dilandau smiled. The game just kept getting more and more interesting.

*****

Eric shivered in his cell and tried to get comfortable on the small pile of straw that had been laid out on the cold floor. He closed his eyes and literally prayed for sleep to come to him.

No such luck.

He had no idea how long he'd been in the cell. All he knew was that he'd eaten three times, had been ravenous at all three meals, and he had not slept one bit. His stomach felt a bit queasy and his head would not stop pounding.

Eric groaned and rolled over. He truly did not feel well at all. The lack of sleep was making him nauseous. 

Suddenly, he heard his cell door swing open. He rolled his head to the side to see who it was.

"Viole!" Eric's eyes lit up and he scrambled into an upright position.

"Hey kid." Viole said, and set another plate of food down in front of Eric. Eric looked at the food, and grabbed his stomach. "How are ya-" Viole started, then backed up quickly as Eric vomited on the cell floor. "Doing?" he finished, wincing at the mess.

Eric wiped his mouth. "I'm sorry, Viole. I just don't feel really good." Tears came to Eric's eyes, hot tears of embarrassment at what he had just done.

Viole knelt down to Eric's level and patted his shoulder uncertainly. "Hey kid, don't cry. It's all right, really. We'll get this cleaned up right away. Are you hungry at all?"

Eric shook his head weakly.

"All right, then I'll take this food back and uh," Viole had felt Eric's shivers when he had put his hand on his shoulder. "I'll, uh, I'll get you a blanket."

"Thank you," Eric murmured, and crawled into the opposite corner, away form his mess.

Viole winced again as that feeling came into this stomach.

__

What is that? He asked himself. _ Guilt?_

He shook it off, however, and threw Eric's unwanted food to the guard dogs outside of the dungeon.

Her time was up. 

Iris sat at the long table with all of the dragonslayers on the morning of her challenge. She tried to gulp down the porridge and fruit in front of her, but knew that her nervous stomach would send the food she forced down right back up again. 

"You'd better eat," Miguel nudged Iris's elbow with his own as he chewed an apple slice. "You'll need plenty of energy today. You're in for the long haul." Miguel winked at her and ate another apple slice.

"How many slayers do you think I can beat? Be honest, Miguel," Iris pleaded quietly.

Miguel placed a hand to the back of his neck and considered, looking up and down the long table. "I'd say you've got four good fights today. You'll take Refina down because you've got size on her, you should be able to get Chesta but you'll have to be quick, he's a fast little bugger. Dalet will be a definite challenge, but I taught you the move that I always take him out with, use it and you should be fine. Viole is the one you'll have to look out for. He's quick, he's strong, and he's smart. He'll wait you out because he knows you'll be tired. He'll wait 'til you make a mistake, and then he'll take you out."

Iris took a deep breath and looked at Miguel. "Four slayers? That's all the credit you'll give me?"

Miguel raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, four ain't too shabby. These guys, and girls," He grinned a bit. "Have been in sword combat most of their lives. A lot longer than you have at any rate. I'm being honest, like you asked me to be."

"Thanks for that," Iris whispered, her eyes downcast and sad. She pushed away from the table and stood. "May I be excused, Dilandau-sama?" she asked, automatically. 

"What for?" He questioned, without looking up from his bowl of porridge.

"So that I may prepare for today's exercises," she answered, looking straight ahead.

Dilandau grinned. "Take all the time you need," he said, waving her off. "It won't make a difference." Dilandau grinned and watched her go. She had shown no reaction to his statement, but he knew he had rattled her. 

He gave her about a five minute head start, then got up to leave the mess hall. He called over his shoulder to Gatti. "Gatti, you're in charge until I return. Make sure all this is cleaned up and all slayers are in the training room and prepared in an hour."

"Yes, Dilandau-sama." Gatti stood and cleared off his place at the table as soon as Dilandau and Iris had gone, motioning for the others to do the same. He tossed the wet rag at Chesta, hitting him in the face with it.

"Hey! Gatti! Knock it off!" Chesta yelled, and twisted the wet cloth up, snapping Gatti on his back with it.

The other slayers laughed as Gatti yelped and put Chesta in a headlock. Chesta finally called out uncle and Gatti grinned and messed up his hair.

He gave the wet rag back to Chesta. "Clean the table, twerp." Gatti said, affectionately mussing up Chesta's hair again.

"Yeah, yeah." Chesta griped and began swabbing up the crumbs and spilt food. "One of these days, Gatti, I'm gonna get that second growth spurt and you are gonna be in trouble."

A chorus of 'Ooooo's' went through out the slayers, and Gatti grinned. "I hope so twerp. That way I won't always have to be getting you out from under foot all the time."

"I'll show you underfoot!" Chesta threw down the rag and charged at Gatti, wrapping his arms around Gatti's waist and driving him to the ground. Gatti hit with a thud and laughed. He rolled over and pinned Chesta to the ground. The two wrestled around a bit and the other slayers rolled their eyes and chuckled, used to the everyday banter between the two blonde friends.

Gatti pulled Chesta's arm behind his back. "Say it!" Gatti grinned as Chesta flopped about like a fish out of water trying to get free. "Say it, Chess…" 

"No! I won't! You can't-" Chesta stopped when a familiar foot came into view. Gatti had already seen and was up and off of Chesta and saluting.

"Sir! I, uh, I apologize for our actions, sir. It was just a joke." Gatti lowered his saluting hand and looked straight forward.

"Do you believe this joking to be an adequate way to spend Zaibach's time, slayer?" Folken asked, never having bothered to learn their names. "Because you have no time, soldier. You know that don't you? Zaibach owns you. Therefore, your time turns into our time and our time is much too precious and numbered to be spent wrestling on the floor of a mess hall. Please spend it more wisely in the future, if it wouldn't be too much trouble gentlemen." Folken left the room with a swish of his cape, and all the slayers were silent.

Gatti helped Chesta up, and the two looked around. Suddenly, Miguel burst out laughing and all the other slayers followed suit.

Miguel walked up to Gatti and put his hand on his shaking shoulder. "Man, that was priceless! 'Zaibach owns you and therefore owns your time'!" Miguel imitated Folken's monotone voice and shook his finger at Chesta. "You should know better, young man."

All the slayers collapsed into laughter again. 

Miguel patted Chesta and Gatti on their shoulders before strolling out of the mess hall, still chuckling. "You two," he turned, wagging his finger at them and grinning. "You two are always good for a laugh, if nothing else." He skirted the wash rag that was thrown at him and jogged down the hall, still laughing.

Iris swung her sword over her head and gave a great cry out loud as she be-headed the practice dummy in front of her. She stabbed her sword into the ground and sank to her knees, exhausted. She held onto the hilt of the sword with both hands and leaned her forehead against the cool metal as she tried to get her breathing under control.

__

Gods of Gaea, she prayed silently._ If you're there and can hear me, I need some help. A lot of it. Please, I beg of you, give me the strength that I need today and I will never ask anything more from you._

"Never," she whispered as she moved to stand again. She wobbled a bit, her knees not quite supporting her as they should. A gloved hand grabbed her elbow and steadied her. Iris jumped at the contact, but turned to thank her rescuer, thinking it to be a fellow dragonslayer. 

Before she could, a deep, smooth voice spoke into her ear and sent ghostly lizards crawling up and down her spine. "Careful, princess. We can't have you feeling too weak to participate in your test today, now can we?" Dilandau's mouth was extremely close to her own when she whipped her head around in surprise. 

Her breath left her as she realized this in a quick gasp, and she yanked her eyes off of his lips and up to his red eyes. 

They were laughing at her, those eyes. She felt he could see inside of her mind as easily as if her own eyes were made of clear glass.

Flushed, Iris used her free arm and hand to wipe the hair from her eyes. "D-Dilandau-sama. Thank you, I nearly fell."

"So I saw," Dilandau said, and released her. He yanked her sword from where it was plunged into the ground and held it up, examining the scars and grooves in the blade. "You should take better care of your equipment, Iris. This will not cut through flesh cleanly at all. It will tear it, very messy and unpleasant." He turned and smiled at her, his eyes glittering with something that produced an excess of butterflies in her stomach. "Unless you like that sort of thing." He said quietly.

Iris blinked and swallowed hard. 

Dilandau licked his lips and handed her the sword, hilt first. She reached out her hand to grab it, but instead, he grabbed her hand. He turned it palm down, and frowned as he examined the long cut on the back of her hand. His eyes flickered to meet hers. He gestured to her hand. 

"Sparring accident, sir." She explained quietly, not meeting his eyes. She had learned not to do so unless she wanted ice water down her back.

"I see. Just a scratch from Miguel, my best swordsman? You're a lucky little princess." He dropped her hand and stepped back. "Perhaps today, with me watching, he will not go so easy on you."

Iris looked up at that. "You believe I will make it to spar with Miguel?" She asked, confused.

"What do you mean?" Dilandau narrowed his eyes at her, also confused.

"Well, I assumed, sir, that I would be fighting the slayers in order of their abilities. And since Miguel is one of the best, I wasn't sure I would make it to spar with him before I was eliminated from the competition." Iris explained.

"I said you would battle all my slayers and finally me, did I not?" Dilandau turned his back towards her and held the sword his hands, weighing it, playing with the weapon.

"Well, yes sir, and I thought that to be like a ladder of some sort. A tournament type of situa-"

"That's the problem with you women," Dilandau interrupted, grinning as he turned around and slammed the sword into the ground right in front of where Iris was still kneeling. He leaned his face close to hers, the smile still twisting his lips. "Always thinking." He whispered and leaned forward. 

It was a fast kiss. Fast and hard. Iris hardly had time to react. She was still reeling from the fact that the sword had almost punctured her foot when Dilandau's hand came to the back of her neck and pushed her lips onto his own. 

Iris's mind spun back to the first time she had felt his lips on hers. The cold hard contact of them, their purpose to muffle her cries of pain. This one was different. It was still hard, but some of the coldness had gone out of it, and this one was defiantly not to silence anything, except perhaps the hunger Dilandau felt deep in his gut for the touch of this woman.

He pulled away quickly as he had pulled her towards him, and stood. "Be ready in thirty minutes, princess," He called over his shoulder as he walked out of the training room. "We'll all meet back here then, and decide the fate of your future." Dilandau disappeared out of the door, and left Iris alone with her spinning mind. 

Just what was he trying to do to her?

"Drive me insane," Iris told herself. "He's just trying to distract me, to pull me off focus so that I will embarrass myself at the test." Iris stood and yanked her sword from the ground. 

"It won't work." She stated simply. "I won't let it."

Iris grabbed a sanding block and began to sharpen her sword and smooth out the scars and knicks. 

*****

Eric opened his eyes and sighed. Now that Viole had brought him a pillow and a blanket, he could sleep better on the pile of hay in the corner. The sun shined into the cell now because they had removed the plank of wood over the barred window. Eric yawned and sat up when he heard footsteps approaching his cell.

"Hey, kid. How're you feeling today?" Viole asked, opening the cell door and squatting down next to Eric.

"Much better now that I slept. How come you didn't bring my breakfast?" Eric noticed the missing tray that Viole usually brought down every morning about this time. 

"Because you'll be eating it with me, this morning. Master Dilandau's orders. He says when the rest of the slayers have finished their breakfasts, you can be served yours."

Eric lowered his eyes and played with a piece of straw. "Will he be there?"

"Master Dilandau? No. It will just be you and I." Viole raised his eyebrow when Eric immediately brightened. "Why do you ask?"

"I won't sit at the same table with him." Eric mumbled, his voice suddenly much too sober for a child his age.

"Why not?" 

"Because I don't eat in the company of those who destroy my country and kill my mother. Father wouldn't approve, I don't think."

Viole didn't remind him that he himself had been a part of that mission.

"I see. Well I guarantee he will not be there to eat with us. Shall we go?" Viole stood and held out his hand to help Eric up.

Eric grinned. "Yeah cuz I am starving!" Eric grabbed Viole's hand and pulled him along even though he had no idea where he was going. Viole stopped and pulled him in the opposite direction. "No, twerp, this way." Viole chuckled as Eric charged in the direction he was pointed in.

Viole chuckled again when he watched Eric wolf down his porridge and fruit. "A person would think you hadn't eaten in years, kid. Slow down before you gorge yourself sick. I'm not cleaning that up again…"

Eric blushed and began to chew slower. "It's just that this is so good. The food I got before-" he paused to swallow. "Wasn't anywhere near as good as this is!"

After two bowls of porridge and three plates of fruit, Eric was finally satisfied. Viole was carrying the dishes to the kitchen when he heard loud shouting and clapping coming from somewhere in the Vionne. 

"What's that?" Eric asked, looking towards the doors.

"I don't know," Viole said setting the dishes down and walking towards the door. "Let's go find out."

He waited for Eric to push his chair in (and chuckled at that as well) then walked down the hall with Eric at his side, following the noise all the way to the training room. The door slid open, and to Viole's surprise, Eric grabbed his hand and held it, using Viole's arm as a vine to swing into the room on. He took a running start and swung in, whooping as he toke Viole with him.

"That's fun!" Eric giggled. "Let's do it again!" Eric continued to swing, and Viole couldn't help but grin at him as he continued his game with Viole's arm. But Viole wasn't giving all his attention to Eric. As Eric continued to swing, Viole listened to the dull roar and discovered where it was coming from. 

"The training arena! Shit! It's started already, I'm late!" Eric gasped and covered his mouth as Viole picked him up and tucked him under his arm, running for the arena.

He set Eric down and cautiously pulled open the curtain, looking into the arena. He saw Iris clash swords with Refina and shove the girl dragonslayer to the ground. He raised his eyebrows in surprise at her strength. When Dilandau had told him he was to fight the princess, he had nearly laughed, thinking it to be a joke. Now he was smiling, looking forward to his turn with the fiery royalty.

"This could be fun, you want to stay and watch? I'm sure Dilandau-sama wouldn't mind. He likes to impress violence on young children." Viole grinned, but Eric remained silent. He looked at Viole with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide. "What's your problem?" Viole asked.

"You said the 'S' word," Eric accused.

Viole rolled his eyes. "Sorry. Do you want to watch or not?"

"Sword fights? You bet I do!" Eric waited patently behind the curtain until Viole got Dilandau's permission.

Iris stood in the center of the training arena and tried to block out all the noise as encouragement and curses were yelled at her from the stands. Her hands worked on the hilt of her sword as sweat worked its way down her back and neck.

She circled Chesta, and his eyes never left her as he moved around her as well. The boy had a small cut on his cheek where he had failed to block on of Iris's advances quickly enough. 

Iris in turn had a cut on her neck from a close call from Refina earlier, and a cut on her leg from underestimating Chesta's quickness. 

Her chest heaved up and down as she waited for Chesta to attack. He did, and she parried his blow and raised her leg, kneeing him in the stomach. As soon as he bent double, she brought her elbow to his face. 

Chesta grunted and fell back as blood spurted from his nose. Iris stood over him and pointed her sword at his neck. "Dead," she proclaimed triumphantly as she smiled down at him.

Iris turned to Dilandau who watched with his hands folded in front of them and his chin resting on them. She waited for his consent. He nodded slightly and the arena exploded in applause and hisses as Iris leaned down to help Chesta up. "Sorry, Chesta," Iris smiled at the boy as he winced and stood with her help. "You left yourself wide open."

"Beginners luck," Chesta grinned and patted Iris's shoulder. "You're good, not great, but good. But not great…"

Iris rolled her eyes and shoved him towards the exit of the arena floor. "Yeah, yeah. Get out of here before I kick your ass again."

Dilandau pondered for a moment then narrowed his eyes at the smile on her face. She was having fun. This was supposed to be a test, not a recreational fun day. He murmured something to Gatti, who nodded and picked up his megaphone. "The next contender will be, Miguel Labariel."

Iris gasped and turned to look up at Dilandau. He grinned and blew a kiss at her. Iris narrowed her eyes at him even as the blush worked its way up her neck.

Miguel jumped himself. Surely he couldn't have heard right…

"Miguel, you're up." Dalet smacked him on the shoulder to bring him out of his trance.

Miguel stood slowly and walked out into the arena towards Iris. She looked at him with confusion and fear in her eyes.

He stealthily shrugged at her as they turned and bowed to Dilandau.

"Begin," Dilandau called. Iris could hear the grin in his voice.

Miguel drew his sword and began circling her.

She did the same. "Miguel, what do I do?" she whispered, clenching her teeth together and trying not to move her lips.

"You're asking your enemy for advice?" Miguel answered, clenching his jaw as well.

"I know that I can't beat you. This isn't fair." Iris stopped and began circling the other way, just so as not to appear suspicious. 

"You knew you'd have to fight me eventually. Just do what I taught you, you'll be fine." Miguel lunged at her and Iris barely suppressed a scream as she threw up her sword for the block.

His steel crashed down hard on hers, and forced her to her knees. His sword made a quick arc for her neck. He would stop before it reached her flesh, declare her 'dead', and win.

Fuck that shit.

Iris ducked under his blade and kicked out her leg, tripping Miguel. She scrambled to her feet and aimed her sword at his neck. He blocked it, an incredulous look in his eyes as he shoved her back so that he could stand.

They began to circle each other again. "I thought I told you to do what I taught you to do. I don't know where you learned that move, but it wasn't from me." Miguel grinned and attacked her again, this time swinging his blade for her midsection. 

Iris jumped back and spun around, bringing her sword for his shoulder. He blocked it and sent her sword flying. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve you don't know about." She winked at him and did three consecutive backward flips to retrieve her sword.

Miguel raised an eyebrow. "Showoff."

Dilandau watched as they clashed swords again. He didn't know whether to be angry with his best swordsman for taking so long to beat this girl, or to be happy with Miguel's obviously more than adequate training of her. He leaned back in his throne and placed a fist to his mouth.

He watched as Iris flashed a radiant smile at Miguel again, and something clicked inside of him. He barely recognized the emotion, but when it dawned on him, it infuriated him.

__

Jealousy? He barely knew what that was. He had never had reason to be jealous before. He was the person that everyone else was jealous _of_.

"Dilandau-sama?"

How dare she smile like that at Miguel? She was not supposed to be enjoying herself. This was a test; this was punishment for what she had done.

"Dilandau-sama?"

Dilandau's knuckles were white as he grabbed the arm of the chair in anger. He would show her. He would go down there and-

"Dilandau-sama?"

"What?" Dilandau roared, breaking the armrest off of his chair.

"Um, sir, I was just wondering if it was ok to let the kid watch the tournament, sir. He's waiting outside and…" Viole winced and trailed off when Dilandau turned and gave him a very strange look.

"The prince?" Dilandau asked quietly, not really speaking to anyone.

"Yes, sir."

Dilandau suddenly began to smile. His eyes narrowed and his hand went to the scar on his face. "Perfect," he purred as he ran his finger down the length of his scarred cheek.

"Sir?" Viole asked quietly.

"By all means, Viole," Dilandau stood and walked past him, still wearing the maniacal and very disturbing smile. "By all means, let the boy watch." Dilandau chuckled and made his way down to the arena floor.


	5. Part 5

Iris's eyes stung as her sweat dripped over her eyelashes. She would not blink the painful salt out of her eyes however, now she had knew better.

Miguel smirked at her and lunged forward, faking with her at his sword, then bringing his other hand forward and putting his fist in her stomach when she went for the block.

Iris gagged as bile rose in her throat from the force of the hit. Miguel took advantage and took her feet out from under her, landing on top of her with his forearm and his sword over her throat.

"Dead," he whispered, grinning at her when she caught her breath and opened her eyes.

Iris let out a long breath and let her head fall to the ground, squeezing her eyes shut and raising her hands to her face.

Miguel furrowed his brow. "Hey, it's ok. You did great. Really. You surprised the hell out of me and I've been training you for a week."

"I lost," Iris said, her voice breaking.

Miguel smiled and pulled her hands away from her face. "You were terrific."

Iris sighed, her wrists still in Miguel's grip. 'Truth?"

"Truth. Dilandau-sama would have to be blind not to see your valor."

"And since I am not, I believe congratulations are in order, Princess Iris."

"Dilandau-sama!" Miguel scrambled to his feet and pulled Iris up with him.

"Well done, Miguel. Although she lasted a bit longer than I would have liked, you defeated her in the end." Dilandau stood with his hands behind his back in front of the two.

"Yes, sir." Miguel said, lowering his eyes.

Iris stood stiff as stone and refused to meet Dilandau's eyes.

"And you," he began, waiting until she lifted her eyes.

She did finally, noticing his pause. "Yes, sir?" she asked quietly, fearing her death was eminent because she had failed.

"You have surprised a lot of people today, Princess. And I'm not alone in my decision when I say you've earned this." He pulled full dragonslayer armor from behind his back and extended it out to Iris, who until then had only worn the uniform pants and jacket.

Iris was so relieved that she wouldn't be killed that she forgot the gift she had earned was to become a part of the power that had destroyed her own country, and she smiled. 

Dilandau half-smiled back at her as he watched her don the armor. When she had snapped the last piece into place, she stood up straight again, her shoulders already feeling the new weight on them.

Dilandau walked to the side of the arena, was handed something and walked back towards Iris.

"Kneel," he ordered.

Iris obeyed.

"Iris Rolowen," he began in a ceremonious voice, and Iris briefly wondered where he had learned her last name. "I bestow upon you the honor and rank of a Zaibach Dragonslayer. Stand, and receive your weapon."

Iris stood and jumped when hands reached around her from behind and buckled a scabbard into place around her waist. She turned and looked at Miguel who grinned back and winked.

Dilandau produced a brand new sword from behind his back and placed it in Iris's waiting hands. He gave her a slight nod, and she returned it. The second she slid the sword into place and locked it into the scabbard, the arena exploded with sound and Miguel picked her up in a hug and spun her around once.

"Congrats, Iris. And welcome to the slayers. You've definitely earned it!"

"Thank you Miguel. Now put me down before you make me sick."

Iris turned back towards Dilandau who was smiling at her rather strangely. He held out his hand, and she shook it. "Congratulations, princess," His hand suddenly tightened painfully on hers and Iris gasped. "Now you are part of the army that pulverized your own country. Won't Mommy and Daddy be proud?"

Iris's eyes grew wide and she tried to pull her hand away, furious when he only tightened his grip. "Let me go you evil bastard!" Iris hissed.

Dilandau grinned and pulled her closer to him, forcing her chin over his shoulder as he put his lips to her ear. "I'm sure they would be. I know your brother is."

Iris froze. _Her brother? How did he know about Eric?_

Then she saw him, and she swore her heart stopped.

~~*Oooo, evil cliffhanger! Bwahahaha!! Oh don't complain at me, you don't have long to wait, you never do. I get out the chapters fairly fast, you must admit. So, how's the story so far?? Liken' it, are ya? I hope so. I do this because I like to but also because I love to entertain others. I can't force you to review and I don't want to be one of those people who demands them or they won't put out more chapters, I won't be one of those people, it's just that I have discovered I love reviews. They really are the greatest things. They're kinda like a drug, I'm hooked. *Looks around at all the weird looks she's getting* WHAT?!?

He stood beside Dilandau's throne up in the observation balcony. Tears streamed down his face as he slowly shook his head from side to side, a look of horror on his face.

"Eric! No!" Iris fought to free herself from Dilandau, and succeeded in doing so, but not until her had released an evil chuckle into her ear that made her entire body go cold. She ran to the edge of the arena and banged against the doors, desperately calling out to her brother.

"Eric, please! This is not what it looks like! Please, Eric, listen to me! ERIC!" She screamed when Eric just backed away from the edge of the balcony, still horror stricken and sobbing.

Dilandau signaled to Viole from behind Iris, and Viole stepped forward, scooping the shocked little boy up and carrying him out of the arena.

Iris went wild trying to claw her way up the arena wall. She screamed at Viole to bring Eric back. She ran to the doors of the arena and screamed for them to be opened. 

Dilandau watched all of this with mild interest. So much fuss over a little child.

Finally exhausted, Iris slid to her knees with one hand on her stomach and the other still fisted on the door out of the arena. She breathed heavily in quick gasps and fought for control.

Dilandau walked over to her and stood behind her, arms crossed, and a satisfied smirk on his lips.

Iris heard him approached, and her hand slid off of the door and up to cover her face. "How could you have done that? He…he's so young. He doesn't understand…" she whispered.

"Oh I think the problem is that he understands perfectly well. His sister, the only one he has left, has betrayed him, his country, and the memory of dear old ma and pa." Dilandau tsk-tsked and shook his head. Iris turned her face around and glared at him. Her dirt covered face streaked through with tears. Her hair falling out of the tie she had pulled it back with. Dilandau feigned sympathy as he looked at her. "Poor little tyke. I doubt he'll ever be the same again."

Iris screamed and sprung at him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and drove him to the ground. Straddling him, she began to claw at his face, screaming at him the whole time. She raised her fist to punch him, but her wrist was caught in an iron grip and she was hauled up and off of Dilandau. 

Strong arms wrapped around her torso, holding her arms against her body and making it impossible for her to do anything other than kick her feet and scream, which she didn't hesitate to do.

She turned her head around to see who was holding her. Miguel stared back at her, regret and subtle anger in his eyes.

"Miguel, let me go!" She shrieked.

"Iris, calm down! I don't want to hurt you, but after what you just did and the way you're acting now, you're making it real easy for me to rationalize it."

"What I just did? What are you talking about? I was defending my family!"

"You attacked Dilandau-sama, Iris!" Miguel said, incredulous and angered that she didn't realize the severity of what she had just done. "How could you even think of doing that?"

Iris stopped struggling and stared at Miguel, open-mouthed. "You-" she began, then realized it was futile. Dilandau had him totally brainwashed or something. He had them all in the palm of his hand, she realized, as she sagged, physically and mentally defeated, against Miguel. 

"Dilandau-sama, are you sure you are alright?" Chesta asked as he and Dalet helped Dilandau to his feet. To their surprise, Dilandau chuckled.

"Of course I'm alright. She's a woman," he spat at her and wiped some blood off of his lip. "I could never be hurt by a woman." He felt the right side of his face, and pulled back his hand. His eyes widened and his pupils shrank back into the pools of garnet as he look at the blood on his fingers.

She had torn open his scar.

Dilandau walked up to Iris and smacked her hard. Her head snapped to the side and her eyes fluttered open. He backhanded her again and her head snapped back the other way. She sagged even more in Miguel's arms and Dilandau shouted at him to hold her upright. Miguel winced and did as he was instructed. Closing his eyes when Dilandau hit her again, and again.

Iris's body registered the hits, yet she didn't quite feel them. Her head lolled from side to side as Dilandau's punishment continued.

Dilandau's breath came faster and harder as he continued to smack her. He finally stopped, and stepped back, wiping sweat from his brow. He surveyed his work.

Both her lips were spilt and bleeding. Her nose bled from both nostrils and a cut near her eye also oozed. Her cheeks were red and quickly turning to black and blue. He pulled her out of Miguel's arms and kneed her in the stomach, causing her to spit up blood.

He dropped her limp and broken body to the ground, watching as she struggled to breathe.

Satisfied, he wiped his mouth and stormed out of the arena. "Leave her," he called when Miguel leaned down to pick her up. 

"Sir?" he asked.

"Leave her where she is. She has just learned a very hard lesson, and I won't let it leave her mind any sooner by giving her medicine and treatment for her injuries. Leave her." Dilandau said coldly and turned again to walk out.

Miguel sighed and did as he was told, whispering a soft apology as he closed the door behind him and the other dragonslayers.

*****

Eric fought Viole as he picked him up and carried him out of the arena at Dilandau's orders. Viole hated that Dilandau was using Eric like this, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. 

Eric cried and beat on Viole's back as he was carried into a room and finally released down into a chair.

"Eric, stop it," Viole ordered, steeling his mind and heart against Eric's tears and hiccups. "Sit still."

"What was going on, Viole? Why…why did Iris shake that jerk's hand? She's…she's supposed to fight _against_ him, for Mama and Father! He killed everyone in Rolowen! What's wrong with her?" Eric cried, burying his wet face in Viole's chest and fisting his hands in Viole's jacket.

Viole sighed, gently removing Eric's hands from his jacket. "Iris is one of the dragonslayers now, Eric. One of u-…one of them." Viole finished, cursing himself for not being able to admit to what he was.

__

Admit? Since when did being a dragonslayer not bring a sense of honor? When did I become ashamed of who I am?

Viole shook off the feeling and glanced down, as Eric looked up at him with his big eyes all wet and miserable. "Then…then that means that I'm alone. I'm all alone. First, Father dies, then Mama, and now Iris does this." Eric squeezed his eyes shut, his chin trembling again. "What am I supposed to do?" he cried. "What am I supposed to do now that I'm all alone?"

Viole opened his mouth to speak, then realized no matter what he said there was nothing he could do to stop Eric's pain. Viole knew all too well the pain that Eric was experiencing. The pain of being left behind, of being betrayed. Viole's father had taught him that pain when he was no older than Eric, walking out on his family and leaving Viole and his mother to care for themselves and all of Viole's younger brothers and sister. 

Instead, Viole just pulled Eric into his lap and patted his back, trying to sooth the hiccups and sobs away. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, fighting against the wave of feelings that was about to drown him. He sent up the wall in his mind and banked the memories, refusing to experience them again, refusing to feel the pain again. He focused on Eric, and suddenly realized the boy had exhausted himself and had fallen into a deep sleep on Viole's lap. Viole picked him up and walked out of the room and down the hall to the dormitories. He lay Eric on his bed and put a blanket over him.

"Don't worry, little guy. I'll take care of you." Viole whispered and brushed back a lock of Eric's hair.

"Viole, I didn't know you cared so much for the little bastard." 

Viole jumped, whirled around, and swallowed.

Dilandau sat on a bed, across the room, grinning like the Cheshire cat. He stood and walked over to Eric, standing beside the bed and looking down.

Viole's stomach flipped, remembering what Dilandau had done to Iris. He wouldn't strike a child, would he?

Dilandau's hand reached out, and Viole had to fight not to snap his arm out and stop Dilandau's hand. But he relaxed a bit when Dilandau only traced his fingers across the boy's forehead. 

"So small and helpless…" Dilandau murmured. He looked up at Viole, a small smile playing at his lips. "What's it like, Viole? This paternal affection you have for this boy?"

"Sir?" Viole asked, worried that this question could only lead to one thing, him getting slapped or punched or hurt in some way.

"I've noticed you've formed quite a bond with him. He runs to you, even though you were also one of the soldiers that helped to destroy his homeland. He hates everyone else. Curious, I wonder why he doesn't hold that fact against you?" Dilandau considered, looking at Viole thoughtfully. 

"I…I don't know, sir."

"Perhaps," Dilandau said, straightening and walking towards the door of the room. "Perhaps the fact that you were there has been withheld from the boy," he said a smirk on his mouth as he paused beside Viole and spoke into his ear. "He doesn't know his hero is a fraud."

Dilandau chuckled and walked from the room, leaving Viole to deal with the horrible feeling in his stomach that, thanks to Dilandau, had just about tripled in size.

Iris awoke against her will. Her mind slowly resurfaced and the moment she tried to blink open her eyes, she was sorry she had awakened. 

Her body felt as if she'd fallen from the Vionne and landed on some sharp, jagged rocks below.

"Mother of Gaea…" Iris moaned, then immediately gasped as her jaw popped back into its socket. She managed to pull herself up into a sitting position, then cried out again as a shooting pain coursed though her ribcage.

__

Why couldn't he have just killed me? Iris winced, clutching her side. 

"Because that would have been the merciful thing to do. And if there is…ow…one thing I've, ugn, learned about Dilandau Albatou, it's that he is not, ouch, merciful." Iris struggled as she pulled herself over to the wall of the stadium arena so that she could use it to stand.

She took a deep breath and wrapped her hands around the edge of the wall, and pulled herself to her knees. Her cracked ribs screamed at her, and Iris screamed back, in pain and frustration. 

*****

Two rooms away, Dilandau was lying on his bed, his arms folded behind his head. He heard Iris's pained shriek, and he grinned. 

"So, she's awake."

Dilandau chuckled and shook his head.

*****

Miguel jumped when he heard it. He looked up and Chesta looked back at him.

"Was that…?" Chesta started, pointing at the door.

"I think so," Miguel said, getting out of bed and slipping his black, leather, uniform pants on over his sleeping shorts. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Dalet asked.

"Going to see if she's all right." Miguel said, zipping up his pants and pushing his hands through his hair.

"Going against Dilandau-sama's orders, you mean," Chesta pointed out.

"What are you talking about?" Miguel muttered.

"He said to leave her," Guimel said, sitting up on his elbows. "That doesn't mean only for an hour."

"She's been down there for six hours, Guimel. I think she's learned her lesson." He growled, yanking open the door.

He stopped cold, staring Dilandau in the face.

"S-sir…" Miguel said, immediately bowing his head.

"Playing hero, Miguel?" Dilandau smirked, his eyes fiery. 

"No, sir. I was only worried-"

"Worried? Why should you be worried about our princess? Moreover, who told you you _could_ be worried about her?" Dilandau shouted.

Miguel lowered his eyes. "She's a dragonslayer now, sir. One of us. I am concerned about my own."

"That's all well and good, Miguel. But I will be the judge of whether or not she has learned her lesson. Get up, all of you. I want you in the mess hall in thirty minutes." He ordered, tossing his glance over Miguel's shoulder at the other slayers.

"Yes, sir."

"Thanks a lot, Miguel. It's three in the morning and we have to go eat breakfast now." Dalet rolled his eyes and swung his legs out of bed.

"Shut, up." Miguel snapped, tossing his towel over his shoulders and heading for the showers.

*****

Iris grimaced as she stood; unbidden tears sliding down her cheeks as she clenched her eyes shut. When she was finally on her feet, the pain lessened, but still remained. The armor she wore only put more pressure on her abused ribcage, so she moved to take it off, lifting her arm to remove the shoulder armor. 

Iris gasped as another white-hot bolt of pain raced down her side. "Dammit," she breathed as she slowly eased the armor over her head and finally, off.

Breathing heavily, Iris removed her leather jacket and let it fall to the ground. Free of some weight, she could breath a little bit easier, though her broken ribs made it painful enough.

A door opened across the arena from her and Iris whirled around, grabbing her side as it protested her quick movement, to see whom it was. She grabbed the wall of the arena behind her for support. Her heart quickened its pace when she saw who walked through the doors. Not with excitement or lust, but from pure fear. She feared this man now. She feared the power he had over the other slayers, and over her. She feared his hand, and what it did to her, and what it could do again.

Dilandau studied her. He'd never seen her in the condition she was in. And it wasn't her injuries, but her blatant fear of him that startled him. Her breath came in quick and shallow gasps, her eyes were wide and they followed his every step. He had overestimated her mental strength. 

He'd broken her.

Dilandau wasn't sure how he felt. He had been successful in breaking his other slayers, and now they were completely submissive to him and forever loyal. But he had enjoyed Iris's spirit, delighted in her insubordination at times, and even her stubborn frown had entertained him.

Not a word was spoken between the two as Dilandau made his way closer. Iris stared at him, and tried to flatten herself against the wall as much as possible. Still, he came closer. 

Iris began to shake. She cursed herself on the inside, telling her body that this was ridiculous and she was to stop this behavior at once. Her body, however, knew the wrath of Dilandau more than her brain did, and was still broken and bloody from being in the path of it, so did not listen but only shook harder.

Dilandau stopped when she began to quake in front of him. He narrowed his eyes as he saw her hands shaking as she gripped the edge of the wall until her knuckles were white. This did not please him at all. A sick feeling began to rise in his stomach.

"Stop that," he said quietly.

Iris jumped at his voice, and she squeezed her eyes shut. "Please, stay away from me. Please," she whispered; her eyes shut tight and her breathing ragged.

"Iris-" he stepped forward.

"Please!" Iris screamed, falling to her knees.

Dilandau stopped and stared at her as she crumpled at his feet.

"I don't want to…I don't want you to hurt me anymore. Please. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Iris cried over and over again, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. She lay on the ground now, with her hands over her face.

"Iris, stop this. This is no way for a dragonslayer to behave." Dilandau said, trying to keep a little of the edge in his voice. 

He knelt down, and Iris curled into herself more. "Don't…" she whispered, hardly breathing now, on the edge of unconsciousness. "Please don't, I don't want you to hurt me anymore…" Iris coughed weakly and trailed off with a sigh, her body going limp. She lay on the ground, her eyes opened and glazed, tears still streaming down the side of her face.

Dilandau tried to slide his hands under her, in order to pick her up, but Iris fought him.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed.

"Iris, that is enough. You need medical attention. I will take you there. Stop thrashing." Dilandau spoke in harsh, short phrases. Finally in order to stop her from injuring herself further, Dilandau pressed the heel of his hand into her injured ribs. Iris gasped in pain, then went immediately still. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Iris whispered, her strength gone as her eyes rolled up and back from weakness and pain, her eyelids shutting over them.

Dilandau sighed in frustration and picked her up, turning towards the arena door.


	6. Part 6

Miguel watched through the doors of the arena, and he winced at Iris's every shriek. His heart broke for her when he heard her broken sobs. He jumped back when he saw Dilandau turn towards the doors with Iris in his arms, but Dilandau had already seen him there.

"Miguel," he called.

"Yes, Dilandau-sama?" Miguel answered.

"Hold the door there, then run ahead and tell the medics to prepare for a new patient." He said, never even looking down at the battered girl in his arms.

"Y-yes, sir." Miguel stammered, holding the doors open so his master could walk through while holding Iris's limp body.

"An Miguel," Dilandau said, as he walked past. 

"Sir?"

"If I ever catch you ease-dropping or following me again when you haven't been ordered to, I will slice off your ears and feed them to the dogs. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Miguel said, his head down.

"Good, boy, now run to the medics like you were ordered to."

Miguel murmured another 'yes sir' and took off towards the medic room.

*****

Dilandau stood in the doorway of Folken's quarters and sighed in boredom.

"Folken, we've been through this before. She was insubordinate to me, she fucking _attacked_ me. Something had to be done. Disciplinary action had to be taken, so I took it."

"Yes," Folken said coldly. "And now one of your soldiers is in the medic room with an almost punctured lung and broken ribs. I think you may have over done it a bit this time, Dilandau."

"She hurt her lung herself, the healers said so. By dragging herself around, she scraped the broken bone against-"

"But it was you who broke her ribs, was it not?" Folken stated, slamming his papers down onto his desk.

Dilandau raised his eyebrow. It was not often that Folken showed harsh emotions.

"Don't you feel any remorse at all?" Folken asked, incredulous. "_Can_ you feel remorse?"

Dilandau narrowed his eyes. "I am a soldier. What possible use could I have for such weak emotions?"

"They are human emotions, Dilandau. Typical human feelings."

"Well, I am not a typical human," Dilandau growled and left the room.

Folken sighed tiredly and stood, walking to a window. "Understatement of the century…" 

*****

Dilandau strode to the medic room and tossed open the door. Two frightened nurses looked up sharply.

"Lord Dilandau, you should not be here. We have orders not to let the princess be disturbed, and you, sir, will most likely disturb her." On of the nurses said quietly.

Dilandau looked down at her. He narrowed his eyes. That is all it took. The nurse gasped and left the room, pulling her assistant along with her.

Dilandau rolled his eyes, then walked slowly over to the bed where Iris lay. He cocked his head to the side as he examined her. The bruises on her cheeks made her look gaunt and sick. He pulled the side of the sheet up and examined her side. Her ribs were an angry purple color, and he could see in her thin stomach where each of the brakes was.

Something suddenly tightened inside of him and Dilandau blinked at the sensation. 

What had that been?

Perhaps this was that remorse that Folken spoke of, but why should he feel it. After all, she had been the one to attack him first.

__

Although. A corner of his mouth rose a bit. _It hadn't been entirely unprovoked…_

Iris suddenly moved and moaned as her pain plagued her in even her sleep. Dilandau stepped back from the bed, suddenly reminded of a familiar scene.

__

I kissed her last time she was like this, and now I feel as if I want to kiss her again. But why? Dilandau wondered, unconsciously moving back to her side. _She's certainly not at her most attractive, bruised and laid up like this, yet, it doesn't seem to make me want to kiss her any less._

Dilandau pondered this while his face came ever closer to hers.

Iris suddenly opened her eyes and they slowly came into focus. Dilandau had pulled his face back by that time, and was smiling strangely at her. 

Iris jumped a bit, then cursed herself. She'd come to her senses, and had been completely embarrassed at the way she'd reacted to seeing him when she's finally awakened in the arena.

Iris looked away from his horrible smile, and cleared her throat so she could speak.

"Come to admire your handy work?" she whispered, refusing to look at him.

"Something like that." Dilandau responded, tracing a bruise on her cheek with his leather gloved hand.

Iris flinched away. "Don't," she said quietly.

"Now that didn't sound convincing at all. If you want a man to stop, you'll have to be more enthusiastic about it than that." Dilandau chuckled.

Iris closed her eyes as a tear ran down the side of her face. Damn. She'd sworn never to cry in front of him, hadn't she? Oh well, too late now, the floodgate had been opened.

"What's this?" Dilandau asked, touching her tear with his finger. "Weakness?"

"Pain," Iris answered, still not looking at him.

"Like I said, weakness." Dilandau straightened. "I hope you patch up quickly, I expect you back in training in three days at the most. Understood?"

"You-you mean I'm still-"

"Is that understood?" Dilandau repeated.

"Yes, sir." Iris whispered.

"Good," Dilandau turned to walk out of the doorway.

"Wait, Dilandau-sama?" Iris called.

"What is it?" He called back.

"My brother…" Iris asked carefully.

"He's being well taken care of. You needn't worry about him."

"Can I…can I see him? I need to speak to him."

"You don't want him to see you like that do you?"

Iris closed her eyes as fresh tears threatened to spill over. "N-no, sir."

"Then we'll wait until you're healed. Sweet dreams, princess." Dilandau smirked and shut the door; Iris cried herself to sleep.

*****

"Eric, you need to eat something. If you get sick and die, I'll probably get into a lot of trouble with Dilandau-sama." Viole spun the chair around backwards and sat in front of Eric, his arms crossed over the back of the chair.

Eric looked up at Viole slowly. "Why do you always do everything that guy says?" he asked quietly. "Don't you know that he is totally nuts and a bad, bad person?" 

Viole smiled a bit. "Well, I think all of us knew he was a bit…off, from day one, but he's or leader, our captain. We are his subordinates and we follow his orders to the letter, or we answer for it. And believe me," Viole shook his head. "You don't ever want to have to answer to Dilandau-sama." 

Eric sighed sadly, then looked down at his oatmeal. Suddenly, he picked it up and threw it across the room in a rage. "Obviously _Iris _does!" he shouted. "What is _wrong_ with her? Why doesn't she know what she is doing? She's leaving me alone, _that's_ what she's doing. I _hate_ her for that! _I hate her!"_ Eric screamed and pushed back his chair, knocking it over as he ran from the mess hall.

He ran out into the hallway and smacked straight into a person heading the other direction. Eric grunted as he fell to the floor.

"Hey!" he yell, outraged. "Why don't you watch were you're going you big jerk?" 

Suddenly, the front of his shirt was grabbed and he was lifted up and off of the ground, and right level with Dilandau's face.

'Why don't you watch whom you're talking to?" Dilandau asked quietly.

Eric stared for a second, then began kicking Dilandau in the chest, and clawing at his hands. "Let go of me, you…you…sister stealer!" Eric cried.

Dilandau had to chuckle at that. "Sister stealer am I? Do tell," Dilandau put the tyke down, but held his head so that Eric could not reach him as he continued to swing and kick.

"You, ugh, brain-washed her or something! I know you did, arg, because my sister, ugn, would never join up with you! Never!" Eric continued to swing until he exhausted himself.

"Brain-wash? Now why do you think I would have to stoop to something so low? You don't believe she follows me because of my dashing good looks?" Dilandau grinned.

Eric made a face and stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Yuck. Iris would never like someone like you. She had her choice of all the princes in the providence. Why would she ever pick you?" Eric spat, still struggling between breaths.

Dilandau smiled and shoved the boy down, not harshly, just hard enough so that he would fall onto his backside. "That sounds like a challenge to me." Dilandau sighed when Viole finally came to take a still wriggling Eric away. "A very interesting one at that."

Dilandau walked to his room and poured himself a glass of vino. He stared out of his window, sipping from the wineglass. "Every prince in the providence," he mused. "Why indeed would she pick me?"

Dilandau's smug smirk faltered, but only for a mere second as he finished his wine and left his room.

****

"Gods, Miguel! You almost killed me! What has gotten into you today?" Chesta held his neck and stood up. The slayers were all in the training room being put through a rather rigorous workout, and were paired and sparing at the moment.

Miguel was breathing hard, and his eyes widened a bit as he looked at his sword and saw blood on the tip of it, Chesta's blood. If Chesta hadn't been so quick and hadn't jumped back, well thank the Gods that Chesta _was_ quick.

"I…I'm sorry, Chesta. Dammit, are you ok?" Miguel looked closer and pealed Chesta's hand away from his throat. A thin red line was there, just below his jaw line, and it seeped blood. "Shit, Chesta. I didn't think I'd swung that close…"

"You shouldn't have swung at all, Miguel. This is sparing. You don't go for the kill in drills, Miguel. Jeez, we learned that our first day!" Chesta said, clamping his hand back over his wound.

"Ches, I really am sorry. My mind just must be somewhere else today."

"I should say so. You've been acting weird all day, Miguel. Did something happen this morning? You seemed…off… at breakfast, that's when I noticed it." Chesta asked, watching Miguel's face closely.

"Something distracting you, Miguel?" a silvery voice rang out from behind the two. The both turned around and mechanically inclined their heads to him. Dilandau smirked and walked past them both, pausing to flick a finger at Miguel's ear on his way by. "Perhaps it was something he heard. Rumors are quite unsettling, you know." His cold garnet eyes slid like daggers to Miguel's, another reminder of his earlier warning to Miguel:

__

"If I ever catch you eaves-dropping again, I'll slice your ears off and feed them to the dogs…"

And an implied a new warning, not to speak a word of what he had seen or heard.

Miguel pulled his eyes away from Dilandau's icy gaze. "Yes, sir," He mumbled, letting Dilandau know he understood the warning.

Dilandau smirked and walked off, observing his other slayers, and instructing them in their sword fighting. 

"Miguel?" Chesta asked as he watched Miguel's frightened eyes follow his leader. "Miguel?"

"What?" Miguel jumped, his eyes back on Chesta.

"Are you ready to go again, or are you still distracted?" Chesta tried to grin, for Miguel's sake, but Miguel lowered his sword, and shook his head.

"I think I'll go down to the obstacle course and clear my mind a bit." Miguel placed his sword back in its scabbard and left the room, leaving a confused and worried Chesta to stare at his retreating back.

*****

Dilandau sat in his room later that night, going over war strategies and land maps, when the feeling hit him again.

He closed his eyes tightly in hopes that it was just a migraine from lack of sleep, and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

The feeling only grew, however, and when the quiet crying started up again, Dilandau swore and punched the desk, knowing it was not just an ordinary headache that plagued him.

The quiet crying turned into sniffled words and broken phrases, all the same he's heard before. All the same that had driven him crazy for months now. He didn't recall exactly when it had started anymore, and he had no idea what it was, only that it scared him. 

And that royally pissed him off.

He'd heard stories of people who heard voices, and they always ended up in Zaibach's streets, or finally, in Zaibach's lock down. When he'd been younger, and had still been going through his schooling, he'd been taken out of his class by a strange man, and old man, and had been escorted to the streets of inner city Zaibach. He'd been exposed to the homeless, the ranting, the disease and all of the other things the other school children weren't 'strong' enough to experience. It made him worldlier, and it also made him quickly learn that a child's view of the world was wrong. Dead wrong.

Dilandau had been frightened then of the people who roamed the streets at night talking to no one and everyone all at once. He'd been frightened of them then, and was only annoyed with them now. They were a waste of space and air in his opinion, and whenever he was in an especially black mood, he would go out into the alleys and ghettos of Zaibach and hunt them, momentarily quenching his thirst for bloodlust.

Ashamed that he may now have become one of them he told no one of the voice he sometimes heard crying in his head.

Snarling as the voice continued, Dilandau stood and threw everything from his desk in one violent sweep. 

"Shut up!" he raged, holding his ears, but the crying continued.

__

Don't leave me alone…

Dilandau laughed at that. How ironic, he thought a little unsteadily, the voice doesn't want me to leave her alone, and _all_ I want is to be left alone.

__

Please…

Dilandau took deep breaths as he stood in the middle of the room. Sometimes when he calmed himself, he could reason with the voice, he could speak to it.

"You know I can't leave you alone, you're inside my head." Dilandau spoke quietly. "It's _you_ who won't leave _me_ alone."

The voice stopped sniffling for a moment, and sighed. _You never speak to me. You never play with me. You just leave me locked up in this dark place. You're mean!_ The voice insisted.

"I didn't put you in there. I don't know what did, but maybe if you'd _get out_ you could find someone to," he spat the word. "_Play_ with if you'd leave me alone!"

The voice began to cry again.

Dilandau clenched his fists in frustration. 'Stop that! Stop your goddamned crying! You annoy the hell out of me! _Why the hell are you in my head?"_ Dilandau screamed.

The crying stopped, and now the voice was older, and angrier, but still the same girl. 

__

How dare you speak to me like that when it is I who gave you the means for life? It wasn't my choice to be put in this dark place for all these years. But you were created out of my darkness. And out of my kindness, you still live. I see what you do, the evil things that you think, and yet I still allow you to live. The question is not why am I in your head, dear Dilandau, but why are you still in my body? The voice screamed back.

"Just what the hell are you talking about? No one _allows_ me to do anything. I do and think what I please and when it pleases me!" Dilandau narrowed his eyes and his iris's began to glow a brighter red as his anger rose.

__

You were not conceived, but created. 

"What?" Dilandau's eyes went wide. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

__

You were not conceived, but created.

"Shut up," Dilandau whispered angrily, disturbed now.

__

You are not real…you are not human…

Dilandau's pupils shrunk as the voice went on.

__

…But I am…

"NO! SHUT UP! Shut the fuck up right now or I will fucking hunt you down and kill you!" Dilandau raged, unsteadily unsheathing his sword.

Now the voice laughed again. A tinkling laugh, like the sound of shattering glass. 

__

You could sooner kill yourself than me…

"Where are you? I swear when I find you-" Dilandau began madly tearing his room apart.

__

I'll gladly tell you where I am, Dilandau. 

Dilandau smiled, his eyes twitching wildly as his body shook a bit. "Then tell me where you are, so I can end this…"

__

You only need to look in the mirror to find me, dear Dilandau…

"The mirror?" Dilandau narrowed his eyes and his eyebrows lowered over them. "What kind of game are you playing?"

__

The mirror, Dilandau. Look into the mirror…

Dilandau turned and walked to the full-length mirror that stood in the corner of his quarters. He stared into it, and gasped. "No, that can't…it's not possible…who are you?" Dilandau asked, stretching his fingers towards the glass.

A woman stood in the glass in place of where his reflection should be. She was a beautiful woman with wavy blond hair and a pale green dress that flowed over her feet to touch the floor. The woman copied his every movement just as his reflection would have done. He reached up to touch his face, so did the woman. He turned his face to the right, and ran a finger down the length of his scar, and the woman repeated his movement, only she had no scar.

__

You Dilandau, I am you.

Dilandau's eyes widened in anger. "I am no woman. How dare you imply as much about me? I am Dilandau Albatou, captain of the elite group of Dragonslayers under the rule of Emperor Dornkirk himself." Dilandau demanded.

The woman in the mirror shook her head sadly, and lifted a hand of her own accord, and pulled it down in front of her face, revealing Dilandau's face beneath her hand.

Dilandau gasped.

The woman pulled her hand back up, and her own face was restored in the mirror.

'Witchcraft," Dilandau gasped, paler than usual. "You're a goddamn witch…"

The woman laughed at this. 

__

If either of us is to be considered anything close to the product of witchcraft, it should be you, Dilandau.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

__

You are a product, not a person.

"No…"

__

You were created, not conceived.

"Stop it."

__

You are an experiment,

"Stop…"

__

You were built, not born.

"I SAID STOP!" Dilandau screamed and grabbed the girl around her neck. He strangled her, watching her horrified face in the mirror, not even realizing it was his own neck he was squeezing, only watching the reflection as her hands wrapped around her neck.

Dilandau choked and gasped, mistaking his own sounds for hers as he tightened his grip. 

The dragonslayers had been awakened by his screams earlier, and were not outside his door, yelling for him when they heard sounds of struggle from within. 

They finally kicked the door down and ran in, only to be shocked by the sight of Dilandau's hands wrapped around his own neck as he sank to the floor, slowly passing out because he would not let himself breathe. 

The slayers called out to him, begged him to stop, and tried to pry his hands off of his neck. Finally, When Dilandau grew weak because of lack of air, the slayers immediately pulled his hands from around his neck and all gasped at the horrible bruises on his throat.

"Why did he do it?"

"Do you think he was trying to kill himself?"

"Why would he do that?"

"Dilandau-sama would never leave us like that."

"Was he attacked?"

"Is he possessed?"

"I don't understand…"

"Shut up, all of you. The 'why's' and 'how's' aren't important right now. What we need to do is get Dilandau-sama to the medic ward and fast." Miguel put his hand to his mouth, quickly analyzing the situation. "Chesta, hold his head. Be careful, he make have hurt himself badly. Dalet, grab an arm, Viole, get his legs, Guimel, get his other arm, and I'll carry his torso. Lift him gently. On my count: one, two, three, up. Slowly, good. Watch his head, Chesta. Ok, medic ward three. Let's go." 

The slayers carried their fallen leader to the medic ward without another word, and left him there without answering any of the nurse's questions. 

"Just heal him," was all they would say. 

"Now, back to bed. If he's up and around, tomorrow. Not a word, ok? No questions, no nothing. Just go about your orders as usual. Got it?"

The other slayers nodded at Miguel, grateful he had taken charge like that.

"Good. Now, back to bed. There are still four hours until first light."

The slayers all filed back into the dorm and lights were put out again one by one. 

But little sleep was caught as all the slayers lay awake and wondered what had happened to their leader.


	7. Part 7

Iris winced as she slowly rolled to her side to go back to sleep. She blinked open her eyes to see if it was morning yet, for she had had no sense of time for days.

She opened her eyes and looked straight into Dilandau's face.

Iris gasped and immediately sat up. Her mending ribs shrieked in pain and Iris swore, grabbing her side. She realized then, that Dilandau was unconscious, or at least asleep. He was lying on the cot next to hers, and he was still as stone. If Iris hadn't watched his chest to see if it was still moving, she would have thought him dead.

A nurse walked past and Iris stopped her. "Please, miss, what happened to the captain?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, dear. His boys brought him in and wouldn't say a word. 'Just heal him' is all they would say. Quite rude if you ask me, ordering around the medics. I say, we are not to be treated like servants…" The nurse continued her angry muttering as she walked away.

Iris's brows lowered as she carefully leaned closer to Dilandau to try and see what was wrong. His chest was bare, as he'd been stripped of everything from there on up, (as far as she could tell) even his gold diadem. 

Iris tipped her head to the side as she studied him. He looked very different without his diadem on, she decided. Not quite so cocky, although, miraculously, his cockiness still seemed a bit evident even in his state. She looked past his face and studied his chest, looking for any sign of an injury. His chest seemed entirely intact, however, and Iris's brows came down over her eyes once again, puzzled.

Feeling quite brave, she reached out her hand and lowered the sheet, thinking he may have suffered a severe cut on his leg or hip. Immediately she dropped the sheet and snatched her hand back, turning an incredibly bright red as she realized the nurses had stripped him of _everything._

"Whoops…" Iris snickered a bit as she reached her hand back to grab the sheet and cover him back up without looking.

Iris cleared her throat, and swung her legs off the edge of the cot, her curiosity was definitely sparked now. There had to be a wound or something. Dilandau didn't end up in medic ward three for nothing.

She rounded his cot, and looked at the sheets he was lying on, thinking perhaps the wound was in his back, but she saw no sign of blood on the sheets or any bandaging done. 

Iris 'hmphed' and stood back with her hands resting on her hips. "What happened to you?" she whispered to herself. She reached out her hand, not really knowing why, and brushed a lock of his star-colored hair off of his forehead. It was, she supposed, because this was the only time she had any power over him at all. There was nothing he could do about anything she decided to do. The feeling gave her a little bit of a thrill. She was still frightened of him, lest we forget, but now he looked as harmless as a child and Iris wanted to take advantage of this while she could.

She ran two fingers down the length of his scar, and as her hand reached his jawbone, she gasped and pulled it back.

His neck was entirely black and blue. 

Iris leaned down closer to see, pushing her hair behind her ears. She could make out finger shapes on his throat in the bruises. 

"Gods…" Iris whispered, and reached out her hand to touch on of the finger marks. 

Iris screamed as her wrist was suddenly seized in a cold hand.

A kindly nurse smiled at Iris while she kept a firm grip on her wrist. "Mustn't touch, dear. You could do more damage to him."

Iris smiled and placed her free hand on her chest to try and stop it from beating out of her body. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just surprised. His neck, it's so horribly bruised. No one knows how it happened?" Iris asked, looking again at the purple marks on Dilandau's throat. 

"Oh, someone knows, because someone found him. They just aren't saying." The nurse kept the smile on her face and finally released Iris's wrist from her cold hand.

"Who found him?" Iris questioned, rubbing her wrist that the nurse had had _quite_ a firm grip on.

"His boys, I believe." The nurse checked Dilandau's pulse and breathing rate, then tucked the bed clothes around him firmly, making an assuming noise and slanting her eyes at Iris while she covered him more securely.

Iris rolled her eyes. 

She walked back to her cot and slipped on her slippers.

"Where do you think you're going?" the nurse questioned, not looking up from her duties.

"Oh, I'm feeling much better. I thought I'd go for a walk. Fresh air is good for the body." Iris smiled at the nurse, but the nurse grabbed her arm in that iron fist again. 

Iris briefly wondered how such an old woman could have kept her muscles in such good shape.

"Not wearing that, you're not."

Iris looked down at her paper-thin robe and blushed. "Oh, I suppose you are right about that."

The nurse pointed to the closet where they had put her clothes. "I shouldn't even let you out," the nurse muttered to herself before she finished with Dilandau and left the room.

Iris smiled at the old lady, deciding that she liked her after all. She slipped on her leather pants and soft undershirt before slipping out the door of the medic ward. 

She headed straight for the melef hanger, making good on her word to get fresh air, but also hoping she could catch Miguel there. She knew he was forever working on his melef.

There he was, just as she had expected, only he wasn't working on his melef, just sitting on the shoulder of it and staring out into the sky. He seemed sad, or worried. From this distance, Iris couldn't tell for sure. 

She walked to the base of the Alseid unit and looked up. "Hey, up there," she called.

Miguel started, then looked down and smiled. "Iris," he hopped down from the melef's shoulder to its leg, then to the floor. He stood a few feet away from her and wouldn't quite look her in the eye. "I…I'm glad you're ok."

"Me too." Iris joked, then stopped and looked at Miguel. "Miguel, what's wrong?"

"Well, aren't you angry with me?"

Iris's eyebrows dipped over her eyes in confusion. "Why would I be angry with you?"

"Because…I left you. I just left you there," Miguel said, almost as if her couldn't believe it himself.

Iris sighed and stepped forward, putting her hand on his arm. "You had no choice, Miguel. I understand that your loyalty is with Dilandau-sama. There's no way I could change that," Iris took a deep breath. "I, don't want to change that."

Miguel gave her a half smile. "Thank you, Iris, for understanding. Not many people would, or do for that matter."

"Miguel, I saw Dilandau. What happened to him?" Iris asked, her hand still on his arm.

The half smile immediately disappeared from Miguel's face. He grew pale even, and walked to the railing on the Vionne deck, looking down. "I…I don't know. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. We're all still shook up as hell."

Iris followed him to the railing and leaned her back against it, looking into his face. "Will you tell me?"

"He, he strangled himself."

Iris's eyes grew wide and she jolted at Miguel's words. "What?"

Miguel shook his head. "We heard these sounds, he was yelling at someone, and then there were sounds of struggle, so we broke down the door. And there he was, his hands around his neck. He was passing out when we got to him, because he wouldn't let himself breathe. We yelled at him, we begged him to stop, but it was like he was somewhere else. He wouldn't stop." Miguel swallowed hard, the memory rocking him all over again.

"Gods…" Iris whispered. "Why?"

Miguel beat his hands on the railing. "That's just it, none of us can figure it out. Dilandau is to vain for suicide, and there was no one else in the room…"

"Even if it were suicide, he wouldn't do it like that." Iris narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"Exactly, that's what I thought too. He'd do it with his sword…" Miguel growled and turned around, beginning to pace. "But he wouldn't do it at all. All of us know that. Something had to have happened. Something had to have made him do that. But what in Gaea could do that?" Miguel asked, frustrated.

"Something horrible," Iris whispered. "Something really horrible."

Iris said her good-byes to Miguel and made her way back to the medical ward. She was truly feeling much better and was going to ask if she could be discharged.

She walked into the room and noticed immediately that no lights were on, and no nurses were hurrying about like normal. She stepped carefully, not really able to see well, and her foot touched something. She looked down, and just as her eyes adjusted, she made out the shape of a body lying on the floor. Images immediately filled her mind from the horrible night that she had found her mother on the floor, and Iris gagged. She covered her mouth, making a small moan as she backed against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut.

A dim blue light filled the room, and Iris opened her eyes slowly. She saw Dilandau sitting on the windowsill of the room, his hand turning up the flame on the small gas torch that usually lit the room. 

"Relax," he whispered, his voice raspy. "She's not dead." 

Iris swallowed and found her voice, her hand at her throat, trying to slow her pounding pulse. "What, what happened…?" Iris whispered back, not taking her eyes from the woman on the floor.

Dilandau shrugged. "She wanted me to take a nap," he said quietly, smirking a bit. "But I wasn't sleepy. So I decided she should take one instead." He nodded his head towards the woman, and just then Iris noticed the small syringe sticking out of her hip.

"Oh…" Iris shut her eyes and stepped over the woman. Dilandau had turned away from her and was now once again staring out of the window. There was an air of calm around the normally fiery captain, and Iris felt as though he was approachable. So, she approached him. She felt she had something to prove after her scene in the arena. She was determined to prove that she was NOT afraid of him, but she had to prove it to herself first.

She was happy to see he had his leather pants back on at least as she walked closer to him. In the dim light, she could make out the hand-shaped dark smudges around his throat. She winced and ducked her head a bit closer, not able to believe that he actually did that to himself. She gasped and jumped back when he spoke.

"Aren't you going to ask who did it?" he spoke quietly again, and Iris realized it probably hurt his throat to speak at all. He didn't turn, but kept staring out of the window as Iris got her heart back down in her chest where it belonged. He heard her small gasp and chuckled. "Still scared to death of me, are you?"

Iris steeled her insides and crossed her arms. "No, I'm not," she said in the steadiest voice she could muster.

Dilandau turned to her then, and the look on his face and the emotions in his eyes nearly broke her heart. He looked lost, confused, scared, but the biggest emotion swimming in his deep garnet eyes was loneliness. He looked so utterly alone. "No? Then why do you startle when I speak?" Dilandau asked getting up from his seat and standing in front of Iris, who fought to keep her eyes on his and her arms crossed. "Why do you pale when I look at you?" he continued, beginning to walk towards her. "Why do you move away when I move towards you? Why do you shake when I raise my voice?" 

Iris was pressed against the wall now, and she placed a hand over her racing heart as he still came closer. Dilandau looked at her. "Why do you place a hand over your heart when I'm near you?" He whispered, keeping his hard garnets locked with her deep green eyes.

Finally, Iris could it no more. Her eyes turned to steel and she stood up straight, no longer willing to cower. She placed her hands on Dilandau's chest and shoved him away from her. Caught off guard, he stumbled back a few steps. Iris reached for the bottom of her undershirt and pulled it up, revealing the horrible black and purple bruise that covered her side. "Here! This is why!" she threw back. "What's wrong, Dilandau-sama?" she asked when he narrowed his eyes. "You wanted answers, I'm assuming that's why you asked me all your questions anyway, so look! Here they are." She turned up the flame on the blue torch and spread her arms out, inviting Dilandau to look at her battered body.

Dilandau walked forward slowly, his eyes wandering over her bruises. He stopped in front of her, his hands skimming over the bruises on her arms, and touching the cuts on her face. Iris's pulse picked up again about the time he lifted her undershirt and ran a hand over her blackened side. She drew her breath in quickly when he touched her ribs. They were still very tender, and Dilandau softened his touch immediately. 

Iris's mind was going crazy. How can his hands be hard and horribly painful one moment and yet soft and so gentle the next? It doesn't make sense…_he_ doesn't make sense…

Iris's mind shut down totally as Dilandau's hands came back up to her face. He brushed her hair aside so that he could have a better look at the bruises that were on her neck and cheeks. She closed her eyes for a moment and just imagined it was someone who cared about her that was touching her. She'd been without affection for too long, everyone that had cared about her was dead or missing. 

__

Eric…

Iris's brows came together as she remembered her brother…but then she lost all reason and control when she felt Dilandau's breath close to her mouth. His hands were slowly skimming up and down her arms, and Iris had the sinking feeling she was being seduced…

"You're not shaking now," Dilandau whispered, close to her ear.

"You're…you're not hurting me now…" Iris whispered, having trouble speaking in sentences.

"I could, you know, at any moment. I could kill you right here." To prove his point, Dilandau tightened his hands painfully on her arms.

Iris winced and instinctively brought her hands up to grip his arms, to try and stop him from hurting her further.

Dilandau went deathly still and then dropped his hands and jumped back as if he'd been burned.

He glanced down at where she had touched his arm and then back at her. Iris's eyes widened as she realized why he had moved away from her.

__

He's never been touched…

Steel was in his eyes again as he glared at her. "You should fear me," he said his voice quaking the slightest bit. 

"Why?" Iris asked quietly. "Because you can hurt me? Lots of people in this world are capable of hurting me, but I'm not scared of them because just because they can," Iris stopped and looked at Dilandau with a sort of hope lit in her eyes. "Doesn't mean they will."

"No, not because I can hurt you," Dilandau said, his eyes widening for a moment, before he got himself back under some sort of control. "I will hurt you," he whispered, then looked into a mirror that was on the wall beside him, and he touched the bruises along his throat. His mind went back to what had happened. He remembered everything as clearly as day. And it scared him to think that he had done this to himself. He spoke to Iris, but didn't look away from the mirror, his voice cracking, "Because I'm crazy…" Dilandau shattered the mirror with his fist before running from the room.

*****

Iris watched him go, her mind swirling at about a million miles per second. 

__

Because I'm crazy…

Of course Iris had believed that from the moment she had first heard his insane laughter, but it was even more unsettling to hear him say it, to _know_ he _knew_ it…

Yet still something about the situation was more than unsettling. He seemed as if he had _just_ discovered the fact that he was a bit…different. And judging from the unlucky mirror, he was not at all happy about the fact. 

This is what puzzled Iris. Other times she had seen him acting psychotic, he was so damn happy about it. Gleefully laughing while his eyes burned with insanity. 

Too tired and flushed to deal with the enigma that is Dilandau, Iris gathered the rest of her belongings from the medical ward and walked through the halls of the Vione to her room.

"Sleep," she chanted, halfway there already. "All I need is sleep…"

"Iris!" Chesta called, seeing her on her way into the dorm. "How are y-"

"Sleep." Iris said, holding up a hand and shaking her head at Chesta and walking into the dorm. She tossed her things onto the floor next to her cot, and collapsed onto it, falling almost immediately into a wonderful, dreamless sleep.

*****

Eric sat on his bed and looked out of the window. He turned around at the sound of someone 

entering the dorm. He saw a figure toss what they were holding onto the ground, then collapsing into bed. His eyebrows tugged together and rose from his bed, walking over to the other occupied cot. 

"Viole?" Eric asked quietly.

No answer. 

Grinning with mischief, Eric tip-toed closer to the bed and leaned over. The person had tossed their covers over their face, so Eric could no see who it was. Still smiling, Eric grabbed the sheet and ripped it off.

"Morning sunshine!" Eric giggled, holding the sheet. He heard no groan of complaint or soft swearing, however, so he looked down curiously…and dropped the sheet.

"Iris…"

Eric choked back his gasp and clamped his hand over his mouth. His little heart was flipping every which way and couldn't decide just how to feel. On one hand, he missed his sister terribly, and was happy to see she was all right, yet on the other hand he still felt betrayed and forgotten because of what she had done.

Eric pinched his eyebrows together as he looked down at his sister. She hadn't even moved since he pulled the covers off of her, she lay there peacefully and taking deep, even breaths. She had fallen deep asleep as soon as her body had touched the cot.

Eric smiled softly and gently covered her back up with the blanket he had ripped off. His questions could wait, because now, when she was like this, she looked like an angel.

She looked like his big sister.

Eric walked quietly out of the room and shut the door behind him.

*****

Dilandau sat on his bed. He wore his black leather pants and nothing else. In his hand was a glass of vino, and his eyes were glazed over as he sat motionless and just stared into the full length mirror across the room.

He was scared. Scared as hell. Nothing like that had ever happened before. It was all becoming too real too fast. First, he had lost control of his senses and had almost strangled himself. Now the voice was much more than a nuisance, it was a threat. It had actually taken over. _She_, Dilandau supposed, had actually taken hold of his hands and he had been powerless. 

This thing, this deity in his head could now do more than just speak to him, it could control his body at its will. Not having control was the scariest thing Dilandau could think of.

He'd wanted to hurt her. He had. He swore that to himself inside and out. When his hands had touched her injured ribs, he'd wanted to push, to see her pale and scream in pain, yet _she_ hadn't let him do it. _She'd_ gentled his hands. He had ended up fucking _caressing_ Iris. It should have sickened him.

That was the other problem. It _should_ have sickened him, yet somehow it hadn't.

The only reason he hadn't totally lost it the moment he realized her wasn't controlling his hands had been because what his hands were feeling had totally fogged over his mind. He'd never touched anything so soft before, he'd never felt anything…

Dilandau snarled and tossed back the rest of his vino, then hurled the glass against the mirror, succeeding in shattering the glass, but he only cracked the mirror.

This was ridiculous, he told himself. He was a soldier of Zaibach, not some hormone stricken teenager.

He stood in front of the mirror and the crack down the center distorted his view so that he could only see half of his face. 

__

Well that won't do, he thought, smirking. _I like to see all of my beauty._

He looked back in the mirror, and stilled. The other half of his face was there now, but his eyes was blue, and his mouth was softer and tilted up at its corner.

Dilandau scowled, ready to give whoever-the-hell-she -was a damn big piece of his mind.

__

Now hush, Dilandau. I don't want to hear that sort of language. I am a lady ,after all.

"You're not a lady. You're a fucking pain in the ass. Who the hell are you and what the hell are you trying to do to me?!" Dilandau screamed.

__

Help you.

Dilandau stared, open-mouthed. "Help me?!" he sputtered. "What the fuck is your definition of help?"

__

You push the princess away when she is so willing to give you her companionship.

"Why would I care about the princesses 'companionship'?" Dilandau growled. "I'd rather she were dead."

_Lies do not become you, Dilandau._

"You know for a fact that I am not lying. If you can really see what's going on in my head, then you know I've tried to kill her on many occasions…"

_What is going on in your head is irrelevant, Dilandau. I can see what is going on in your heart._

Dilandau rolled his eyes. "Oh, please…" he scoffed.

__

I know your thoughts, Dilandau…

"We've established that."

_I know your needs, and you need her because-_

"This is such bullshit. You have no idea what you're talking abo-"

_Because you are scared to be left alone._

Dilandau stiffened. The other half of his face in the mirror smiled.

"What the hell are you talking about, I'm not alone. I have my dragonslayers, I have Folken, I have Emperor Dornkirk, he'd never leave me alone because he _chose_ me, I have all the other soldiers, I…I have Zaibach!" Dilandau was breathing rather heavily and his voice had risen about two octaves, making him sound like a child. "I'll never be alone!"

_There are many different meanings of alone, Dilandau._

Dilandau calmed and smirked at that, his voice and breathing back to normal. "Obviously I believe in a different meaning than you since you refuse to leave me alone."

_You have no one to care for you, no one to touch you, no one to-_

"The last thing I need is someone to _touch_ me," Dilandau spat out the word and turned away from the mirror.

_Poor Dilandau. You deny yourself the basic needs of human nature. Why?_

"Needs are weaknesses. I'm not weak." Dilandau snarled and stormed from the room, the voice in his head sighed quietly and fading away.

****

Dilandra: You _are_ the weakest link, goodbye! *Giggle*

Folken: *Turns and looks at her, raising his eyebrow and shaking his head* 

Iris: *rolls her eyes* I think I'm going to be sick.

Dilandau: Arrrg! I want to BURN that lady!! BURN HER!!!!

Dilandra: Sorry guys, it was just a joke…

Heh. Well that was the next part, obviously…anywho. Sorry that chapter was a bit boring, the scene before had to be explained so that you all wouldn't think Dilly was getting out of character-

Dilandau: Don't I have a sensitive side?

Dilandra: No. No you do not.

Dilandau: *pout* Oh, alright then…

Dilandra: *sigh* Anywho, please review and the next part will be out soon! Later days!~*~~*


	8. Part 8

Dilandau scowled as he walked down the halls. His hands itched to fight, to draw blood, to kill. He searched for an unfortunate slave or someone, _anyone_, but no one was out at that time of night.

"Damn it," Dilandau cursed and finally stopped his frantic pacing and searching when he was at the melef bay. It always made him feel better to be there with his Alseides. It was like his best friend.

"Dilandau-sama?" a voice rang out, and Dilandau immediately grinned. He'd found his victim.

"Sir? Is everything alright?"

Damn it, it was Miguel. He couldn't kill Miguel. But he could fight him. And that was all he really needed; a good fight.

"Fine, Miguel. What are you doing out here at this hour?" Dilandau asked, turning around and resting his elbows on the rail while smirking at Miguel.

"Oh, I was just, uh, working on my Alseides, sir." Miguel looked down, knowing he was caught being out past curfew.

"Was it damaged?"

"Um, well, no sir. Not exactly _damaged_, sir, I was just uh, tweaking it up a bit. Making sure everything is in top working condition, uh, sir." Miguel stuttered and Dilandau smiled.

Good old Miguel.

"Are you finished?" Dilandau asked, not really caring what Miguel's answer would be. He was finished as far as Dilandau was concerned. 

"Huh? Oh, yes, yes sir. I'll go to the dorms immediately." Miguel wiped his hands on the towel he was holding and headed towards the dorm.

"Wait, Miguel. I have another job for you…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miguel grunted as he found his back shoved into the wall again. His sword held off Dilandau's only inches from his face. With a burst of energy and adrenaline, Miguel growled and shoved Dilandau back with his foot.

Dilandau jumped back, his sword still out front and ever ready, and he grinned at Miguel. "Very good, Labariel. Now, come at me, hard, like you want my blood." Dilandau waved his hands at Miguel, encouraging him to charge.

And charge Miguel did. He had such a rush of adrenaline in his system. When Dilandau had asked him to spar, Miguel had been speechless. Hardly anyone got to spar with Dilandau-sama. He spent most of his time sparing with one of the four generals, saying the slayers were a waste of his time. They all believed he was right. Dilandau was five times the soldiers the slayers all were and they knew it. While they were the best of the best, he was the best of them. 

Miguel grunted as his sword met Dilandau's with a loud clash when Dilandau blocked his strike. 

"C'mon, Miguel, I know you can attack harder than that, I've seen it. Come get me!" Dilandau yelled.

Miguel came at him again, this time swinging for his midsection. Dilandau blocked it and yelled for Miguel to attack still harder, and faster. Miguel kicked out with his foot and took Dilandau by surprise, knocking his sword from his hand.

Miguel then took Dilandau's feet from under him with the same move Iris had tripped Miguel with. Dilandau landed on his back then immediately tossed his feet back over his head, rolling into a standing position. He circled Miguel with no weapon, and grinned at him again. "Better and better, Labariel. I like this better and better. I don't know where you learned that move, but I like it."

Miguel glowed with more than perspiration as Dilandau complimented him.

The other slayers had heard the action coming from the training arena and had risen from their bunks. They were now littered around the wall and cheering Miguel and their captain on. 

Miguel stood up straight and wiped his brow. Dilandau cocked his head at him. 

"What are you doing? We're not finished here." Dilandau said, still circling.

"I was going to let you retrieve your sword, sir. But if you want me to get it then I can-"

Dilandau sprung at Miguel and the next thing he knew his sword had been removed from his hands and he'd been knocked to his knees with his own weapon pressed against his throat.

The dragonslayers all went into a hush of awe at their leader's quickness and skill.

Dilandau leaned down and whispered in Miguel's ear. "I don't need a sword to kill you, best you remember that."

Miguel quaked a bit. "Y-yes, Dilandau-sama."

Dilandau released Miguel and stood, looking at his uninvited audience. "I hope you all took good notes, because in battles you may not always have a sword to use. Now back to bed all of you. You're lucky I don't punish every one of you for being out of your bunks."

Many murmurs of 'Yes Dilandau-sama' could be heard as the slayers hurried to file out and back into their dorms.

Miguel sighed and picked up his sword and Dilandau's, handing it back to his captain. "Here you are, sir."

Dilandau took his sword and sheathed it, brushing his wet bangs from his forehead. He walked away then, and Miguel heard him mutter over his shoulder. "Not bad, Labariel. Not too bad at all."

Miguel went to bed happy that night.

****

Dilandra: Heh. Had a hankerin' to write a fight scene.

Miguel: *Shoves the other slayers, pointing to the written scene and bragging* Did you all see that? I almost beat Dilandau-sama.

Chesta: It's a story Miguel. It didn't really happen.

Dalet: Sheesh, and people think _I'm_ self-centered.

Gatti: *pout* I could've done that…

Miguel: *puts his arm around Dilandra* Well, she wrote it, so she thinks I could almost beat him, don't 'cha sweetheart?

Dilandra: *pushes his hand off of her shoulder* Get over yourself, Miguel. Dilandau kicked your ass.

Dilandau: True 'dat.

Other slayers laugh and make fun while Miguel pouts.

Iris tossed and turned in her sleep. Something was nagging at the back of her mind and it would not let her brain be at peace. 

__

Iris…

"Gods, leave me be all I want is sleep…" Iris moaned half-conscious. 

__

Princess Iris…

Iris growled and tossed her pillow across the room, hoping whoever it was would get the message.

__

You're needed, Princess. 

"You know what else is needed? Sleep is needed. And _I_ need it. So shut up and leave me alone!"

__

He needs you…

"Great mother of Gaea I swear on everything that is holy that if you don't LEAVE ME BE I'll…" Iris stopped. "Who does?" she asked quietly.

__

Dilandau, he's in danger…

Iris raised her eyebrow skeptically. "I highly doubt that Dilandau is in any kind of danger he can't get himself out of. Why would he possibly need me?"

__

He doesn't know of the danger, he's asleep, and there is an assassin in his room…

"What? An assassin?" Iris sat up completely awake now and tossed off the covers on her bed. Her entire body was mechanical now, her brain overridden by instinct as she grabbed her weapon and took off down the hall.

****

Dilandau lay in his bed on his side facing away from the approaching boy, not moving, seemingly asleep. He'd known the second the boy had entered his room. He'd sensed him, then smelled him. The boy reeked of fear, and underneath that, anger, frustration, and a bit of insanity. He knew who it was, and it surprised him immensely. The boy was a new dragonslayer, one Dilandau had been particularly hard on, only because he saw the potential the boy had. But when Dilandau was 'hard' on someone, they prayed for hell because that would be like a sweet vacation.

Dilandau smiled a bit as he listened to the young man's breathing. It was growing more and more panicked every second.

Sweat dripped down the boy's back and into his eyes. He blinked it away and raised his shaking hand, drawing his sword from it's sheath. 

Dilandau heard him remove his steel, and he smiled wider. _Why I do believe he's actually going to go through with it…_

Of course there had been others who had tried to assassinate him, but this was the first time one of his own slayers had gone off the deep end and decided they just couldn't take it anymore.

Dilandau felt absurdly proud as the slayer stepped closer to his captain's bed and raised his blade. Dilandau tightened the hold he had on his dagger, ready to parry the blow as soon as his slayer decided to give it. Dilandau nearly cackled as he thought what the boy's face would look like.

__

He'll probably piss himself, Dilandau grinned.

Suddenly Dilandau heard another in his room, and sensed the immediate movement of the boy and his downward swing of steel. The boy gave a cry as he swung for his master's neck, a sob really, only to be interrupted by another sound as he cried out in pain as his sword fell to the floor.

Dilandau reached back behind him under the blankets and plunged his dagger deep into the boy's thigh, making the boy fall immediately to the floor screaming in more pain. 

But someone else had made him scream first.

Dilandau jumped from his bed and turned the gas lantern up all the way, causing Iris to squint and the boy to gasp.

"Iris? What the fuck are you doing in my room?" Dilandau asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Saving your life, apparently," Iris said, leaning around the bed to see who the assassin was. Her eyes widened at the black and blue armor she saw. "A dragonslayer? One of your own dragonslayers tried to kill you?" Iris asked incredulously. 

"The day I need a woman to save my life is the day I'll stab myself in the face!" Dilandau yelled angrily.

Iris noticed the other dagger in the boy's leg and looked at Dilandau questioningly. "So, you _knew_ he was in your room trying to kill you?"

"Of course I did!" Dilandau walked over to the boy and grabbed his hair, yanking him up and gesturing with his writhing body. "Do you think I'd let a moron like this sneak up on me?"

The boy reached his hands up and grabbed Dilandau's arms trying to free himself from his master's painful grasp.

Dilandau didn't seem to notice, or care, as he continued to glare at Iris.

"You knew he was there the entire time and you let him get that close to taking your head off? Dilandau, he was four inches from-"

"What?!" Dilandau growled, tightening his grip on the boy's head making tears come to the boy's eyes and wrenching a gasp from him.

Iris immediately recognized her mistake. "Dilandau-_sama_," she corrected. "Why did you let him get so close?"

"Because I was…proud…I guess you could say." Dilandau smirked.

"You…you were?" the boy asked meekly.

"You keep your mouth shut." Dilandau yanked on his head for good measure.

Iris just stared at them blankly.

"He was doing so well until you came in and ruined it for him. Of course," Dilandau said, looking down and ripping out his dagger that he had stabbed into the boy's thigh, and causing the boy to yell quite loudly. "I was going to stab him anyway, which I did, but only after you intruded and stuck this," Dilandau pulling out the dagger in the boy's side that Iris and thrown. The boy screamed again and sagged in Dilandau's grasp, growing faint from pain. "Into him." Dilandau continued, tossing the bloodied dagger back to Iris.

Iris caught the dagger and it seemed to knock her out of her stupor. "You…you were _proud_ of him?!" Iris choked, and madly gestured with her messy dagger. "Dilandau-sama, he tried to _kill_ you!"

"I know," Dilandau smiled happily and looked down at the pale and sick looking boy. "None of my slayers have ever tried that before. He's a brave son of a bitch, I'll tell you that."

"I give up. I fucking give up!" Iris yelled. "One second you act like a normal person and the next you are happy to have assassins! I will never understand you." Iris tossed up her hands in frustration and stalked from the room.

"And that's the way I like it," Dilandau said, and then focused his red eyes on the shuddering boy in front of him. "Well, Joshua, not bad for a first assassination attempt."

"Th-thank you Dilandau-sama! All I've ever wanted from you is a compliment…" The boy was crying, Dilandau could tell by the way his shoulders shook. But they were tears of happiness because he thought he finally had his master's approval. 

"Well," Dilandau said, taking his dagger in one hand and the boy's head in the other, "You got one," Dilandau sliced the boy's throat wide open. The boy gurgled and choked for a second then went slack and Dilandau dropped him to the floor, kicking his limp body out of the way.

"I hope it was worth it."

*****

Dilandra: Well, it _was _funny, 'til I did that.

Iris: Eww…*Places a hand to her neck*

Dilandau: *shrug* The bastard deserved it. 

Miguel: I didn't even know there _was_ a Joshua. 

Dilandau: *smirk* Doesn't matter now, does it?

Iris sighed and walked back to her room. She sat on her bed, but soon stood to pace. She was antsy, she was wired. 

And it was all _his _fault. 

Well, that wasn't exactly true, she told herself. She had been the one to barge into his room uninvited. That was another thing that bothered her. Why _had_ she gone to Dilandau's room?

She was sleeping, she remembered, in a deep sleep, when something had wakened her. What had it been? She couldn't quite remember. It was like waking up and not quite being able to remember a dream you've had. It was frustrating. 

Iris decided she needed some air, since she obviously wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight, and headed for the hanger. She grasped at the edges of her mind to try and remember what had awakened her. She had an inkling that someone had told her. She almost remembered a voice, but not clearly. 

She was still deep in thought when she reached the hanger, and was startled when she looked up and saw Dilandau at the railing with the boy who had tried to kill him.

Iris saw Dilandau whisper something to the boy, then touch his face gently, almost lovingly, before he picked him up and held him over his head for a moment. It was enough time for Iris to see that the boy was quite dead, and just as she realized it, Dilandau tossed the boy over the railing.

Iris gasped and Dilandau turned his head to see her. He closed his eyes for a moment, then turned back around, watching Joshua's body until it was a speck, and then nothing.

She stood there, quiet, waiting for him to explain. Somehow she knew he would.

"It's not like I could let him live. He committed high treason." Dilandau spoke quietly, not turning around.

Iris swallowed and slowly nodded, walking forward again. "I figured you'd kill him sometime, but why get rid of his body like that?" Iris asked, stopping at the railing and looking down, a sick feeling starting in her stomach. "Why not let his family give him a resting place?"

Dilandau sighed. "He had no family. I found him."

Iris was becoming more and more confused, Dilandau's voice almost sounded…sad.

"Found him?" Iris echoed.

Dilandau nodded. 

Iris tipped her head to the side and studied Dilandau, trying to decide whether his emotion was real.

Dilandau felt her eyes on him and he shifted his own towards her. He raised his eyebrow and turned around, resting his back and his elbows against the railing. "Yes, Iris. I am sad to see him go," Dilandau stated, guessing why she had looked at him strangely. "Yes, I know _I_ killed him, and yes I know _I_ tossed him over," Dilandau continued before Iris could open her mouth. "But it's such a waste of potential. I spent time with him, I trained him. He could have been great. It's always disappointing when one lets you down." Suddenly, Dilandau's body went rigid, and he clamped his jaw shut, but his voice still came forward through his lips. "You see, Iris, I can care."

As soon as Dilandau said that, he shut his eyes and took a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm down. 

But Iris hadn't noticed that, she was angry about what he had said.She narrowed her eyes. "When 'one' lets you down? You talk about them like they're your pets instead of real people. The way you talk about them-"

"Don't you mean, us?" Dilandau interrupted, grinning. He laughed and walked away as Iris turned red with rage.

*****

Dilandau: Heh. I'm so clever.

Dilandra: Hey, it's the writer that makes her characters clever…

Dilandau: NANI?!

Dilandra: *sigh*

Iris: Why don't _I_ ever get to be clever?

Dilandra: Because you whine.

Iris: *whining* I do not!

Joshua: (The dead slayer) Well, my fifteen minutes of fame are up.

Dilandra: It was more like eight minutes…

Joshua: Details, details….

"'You see, Iris, I can care'?" Dilandau growled, sitting in his room in front of his mirror. He was now resigned to the fact that there was another presence in his head, and Dilandau just decided to ride this experience out. It no longer surprised him to see a different half to his face when he looked into the mirror. He figured he'd better not let it bother him anymore, seeing as though he almost killed himself the last time he let it get to him. "Where do you come up with shit like that? And how dare you make me say it?" Dilandau snarled.

__

I am only trying to help you win Iris…

"Who the hell said I needed you help?" Dilandau stopped and realized what he had just said. He raised his eyes to the mirror and saw the light blue eyed girl smiling triumphantly at him. "And who the hell said I _wanted_ her?" Dilandau recovered and stood, walking to a table in the corner of his room and pouring vino into his cup. 

__

She came to your rescue earlier…

"I sure as hell didn't need her then. She ruined my fun," A smiled tugged at Dilandau's lips as he raised his cup to his lips. "I wanted to see him piss himself." He chuckled at bit, then sobered. "How did she even know to come? There was no noise…" Dilandau looked back at the mirror then, and saw her smiling smugly at him. "You? But how?"

__

It's amazing the power you can have when you add two psyches together. 

"You mean, using the power of your mind, and mine? You could speak to her like that?" Dilandau asked, interested in this new power source. 

The image in the mirror just smiled back at him.

"So, could it be reversed? Could I use your mind to make mine more powerful?" Images of just how he could use that power began to toss and swirl through his head. No one would ever be able to lie to him again, he'd know an enemy's next move before they could make it…

__

I would be a fool to let you have such power.

Dilandau narrowed his eyes. "If you won't share it, then I won't let you have it at all." He threatened. 

__

You have no control over your own psyche. That is why you are as…unstable…as you are.

"I am NOT unstable!" Dilandau shouted as he picked up the table that held the bottle of vino and threw it.

__

Of course you aren't.

"Who are you?" Dilandau raged, frustrated now. "Tell me!"

__

We've been over this, Dilandau…The voice sighed in tired frustration.

"You aren't telling me the truth!"

__

What reason do I have to lie?

"You can't be telling me the truth, it doesn't make any sense! _I'm_ me, not anyone else. It is not possible for you to be me when I am right here!" Dilandau placed a hand on his chest for emphasis.

__

I cannot make you understand. You just have to open your mind and except. I had this body before you invaded it, though it cannot be held against you because it was not your fault. You did not ask to be created. I tire, Dilandau. I must leave you now.

Dilandau shivered as he actually _felt_ something, or someone, recoil in his mind. Something shove itself into the back of his brain, like a distant memory or dream.

This scared him. Now that he knew it was real and not just stress induced nightmares, it scared him. It was becoming all too real now. He had injured himself, very near killed himself because of it. And now it was becoming so powerful that it could speak to others, powerful enough to call Iris into his room. 

He feared it because he had no control over it.

"Folken will know what to do," Dilandau thought out loud, and made his way down the halls of the Vionne towards Folken's chambers. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

"That pompous jackass!" Iris swore as she stood at the railing of the Vionne, looking down as the world slowly passed below her. Iris took a deep breath. She knew she had to relax, if she let him get to her every time, he'd drive her mad eventually.

"I should just stay completely away from him," Iris muttered, but in her mind, and heart, she knew she couldn't.

Iris sighed and placed her face in her hands. Perhaps she was mad already. 

She'd suspected the pulling in her chest was something other than fear when he was near her, and if nothing else, the events tonight had proved it. She'd jumped out of bed ready to defend him at all costs. She'd been frightened. Not at the thought of putting herself in the same room as an assassin, but frightened at the thought of losing him.

It had started the moment he'd kissed her the first time, she supposed, even though it had been under not so lovely circumstances. 

__

This should sicken me, Iris scolded herself. _He forced himself on me, and I'm telling myself that I _liked_ it._

It wasn't the forcefulness that she had liked, she told herself. It was only her natural hormones reacting to having been kissed by a very handsome boy. Yes. She decided that sounded much better. And perhaps that was all it was then, but now, now it was something much larger, and Iris had no idea what to do with the huge, foreign feeling growing inside of her. It wasn't love, not yet, but she felt she was drawing dangerously close to that precipice. 

The night she'd walked into the medic ward and had seen him at the window, that night had yanked her close to teetering over the edge. His eyes had been so sad, and so vulnerable. He'd almost kissed her that night, and Iris remembered the cold feeling that had swept through her body when his hands left her.

He'd been frightened of her touch. That moment was another that had pushed her closer to the edge. For all the blood on his hands, he was still so innocent…

"Iris?"

Iris jumped, and turned, her hand on her chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you alright?" Miguel asked, placing his hand on her arm.

Iris smiled at him. "Fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"We know about Joshua." He said, his voice was low and held a touch of regret. 

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry." Iris said, looking back out over the countryside.

"Why? None of us knew him. He's only been here for a month or two. He never spoke a word the entire time he was here." Miguel stated, crossing his arms and moving to stand next to her and the rail, also looking out over the edge of the Vionne.

"Hmm. I guess it is always the quiet ones," Iris mused out loud.

"You went to protect him."

"What?" Iris said, turning. 

"Dilandau-sama. You went to protect him." Miguel turned and gave Iris a half-smile. "I guess I just didn't expect you to do something like that."

Iris smiled back at him and gave a soft chuckle. "Yeah, me neither."

"Why did you go?"

"I…I really don't know. It was the strangest thing really. I just got this feeling like he was in danger. So I went." Iris shrugged ad smiled at Miguel.

"You really are one of us now," Miguel said, taking her hand in his.

Iris went cold at his words. She tried to smile at him. "I guess I am…" _Forgive me…_

"Iris?" Miguel said quietly.

Iris turned towards him and Miguel leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. This took Iris completely by surprise, and she didn't know what to do. By the time her brain had gotten control again, Miguel had stepped back. His slightly reddened face smiled back at her.

"Goodnight, Princess." He whispered, and disappeared into the hallways of the Vionne.

Iris looked after him, still in shock. It was a touched kind of shock, and Iris raised her fingers to touch her lips, where Miguel's had just been. 

__

Now what am I going to do?

Miguel: Hmmm, I wasn't thrilled with that kiss scene, *wiggles his eyebrows at Iris* I think we should do another take…

Iris: *Scowl* Miguel, it's a story. There aren't any "takes".

Miguel: Hey, writers are artists, and all artists need their models…*Miguel crooks his finger at Iris* 

Dilandra: Not this "artist".

Miguel: Dammit, Dilandra!

Dilandra: Watch it, kid. *Holds up her typing fingers* A couple quick flicks of these babies and the next thing you know you're killed out of the story line.

Dilandau: *Pulls out his flame-thrower* And one quick flick of this finger and you're killed for real…

Iris: *Hopeful* are you…_jealous_??!?

Dilandau: *rolls his eyes* Nope, just in a killin' mood.

Iris: *Pout*

Dilandra: *sigh*


	9. Part 9

Dilandau banged on Folken's door with his fist. "Folken? I know you aren't asleep so just open your damn-" The door slid open and Folken stood inside of it, looking down at Dilandau, mild annoyance in eyes. "Door." Dilandau finished, and pushed past Folken into his room.

"Won't you come in, Dilandau?" Folken asked sighing.

"Folken, there is something wrong with me."

Folken barely suppressed a small smile. _Thank you Captain Obvious…_ "Oh?"

"Yes. Something really, really wrong. I think I'm…sick." Dilandau said with difficulty.

Folken lowered his eyebrows as he turned and looked at Dilandau. Dilandau _never_ admitted to weaknesses such as pain or sickness. Folken knew something must be truly wrong.

"Alright, Dilandau. What exactly is wrong?"

Dilandau scowled. "If I knew do you think I'd be here?"

"Tell me what your symptoms are."

"I'm not physically sick. Not with a virus or anything. I…I don't know how to explain it!" Dilandau said, frustrated.

"Well, I cannot read minds, so if I am to help you I must know what your situation is."

"I hear things!" Dilandau shouted, obviously pained at having to admit this. "I see things, and I know it's not just a trick of my mind. Someone is in here with me," He said, pointed at his head. 

Folken took great care not to show any expression. He'd been afraid of this. The sorcerers hadn't done a thorough enough job on Dilandau in their haste to create him. They'd overlooked certain steps, and now he'd have to deal with the consequences.

"This person speaks to you?" Folken asked, his voice also void of any emotion.

Dilandau narrowed his eyes at Folken, ready to pounce the instant he thought his situation was being made light of. "Yes," he answered.

"What does he say?" Folken asked, intentionally saying 'he' in order to see if his assumptions were correct.

"She," Dilandau corrected, and Folken raised an eyebrow. "She doesn't make sense. She tells lies about me. She says things like she had my body first, and that I should be grateful to her for giving me life. But Folken, those things are small. If it was just a voice, I could deal with it. But, it's gotten worse. I, I did this to myself trying to kill her, well, the reflection." Dilandau pulled aside the blue undershirt and pointed at his throat. 

"The reflection?" Folken asked, leaning closer and squinting his eyes to see better in the gloom of the blue gas light.

"Yes. When I look into the mirror, I can see her." He replaced the sleeve of the shirt and looked expectantly at Folken. 

"You marred your own flesh," Folken observed, knowing this was unheard of in Dilandau's case.

"She can do other things," Dilandau began, knowing how absolutely ludicrous this must all sound.

Folken looked at him and waited for him to continue.

"She, she spoke to someone. She woke one of my slayers from her sleep and told her that there was an assassin in my room. I know this has to be true because neither the assassin nor I made any noise what so ever. Then, she was just there. She just knew. She said she'd heard a voice and it had told her that I was in danger."

"Refina?" Folken guessed.

"Iris."

Folken blinked. "Oh."

"Well?" 

Folken sat down in the chair behind his desk. He placed a hand on his chin and considered just outright telling Dilandau the truth. Would he be able to handle it? 

"What has this voice told you?"

"She told me that by using the power of both of our minds put together she could do more than just speak to others in their minds. I can't control her, Folken. And that is what worries me."

It worried Folken too. This was an unforeseen effect that he had not contemplated. Folken had been working on a different fate Alteration, one that would secure the individual the first time and not require all the "tune-ups" so to say. He decided now to try and reverse the process of his new plan for alteration. It would work, he knew he could get it to work. But he'd have to have Dilandau's full cooperation, and that meant he had to tell Dilandau the truth.

"Dilandau, sit down. I have something to explain to you."

About twenty minutes later, the entire Vionne was rudely awakened by an anguished shriek that came from Folken's quarters.

~*~*~*~

Iris sat quietly in her room, thinking about the past night's events.

A lot had happened in just a few hours. She had heard a phantom voice, she had rushed to save Dilandau's life, she had finally admitted to herself her true feelings for Dilandau, and then Miguel had kissed her. All because some damn voice woke her up.

__

'If only I wasn't such a light sleeper.' Iris mused, shaking her head in disdain. _'What am I going to do about Miguel? I don't want to hurt him…'_

Iris sighed. _'Mother, if only I could speak with you. You always knew exactly what to say. You were so wise, and always had the right answers for me.'_ Iris took a deep breath and wiped the tear that had started down her cheek.

She was startled from her silent meditation by a very loud, very anguished, and very Dilandau-ish scream. Iris sat up and looked towards her door. She wrinkled her forehead as she stood to look out into the hall.

As soon as she stepped out of her room, a body plowed into her. Grunting, Iris fell to the floor. Rubbing her arm that she had fallen on, she winced and looked up. She saw Gatti standing over her. He scowled at her. "Watch where you're going, girl."

Iris scowled back. "Take your own advice, jerk."

Gatti growled. "I don't have time for this," he shoved past Iris when she stood up to look him in the eye.

"Wait, where are you going?" Iris grabbed his arm.

Gatti turned around and shoved her back from him. "None of your business, and if you touch me again, I'll cut your goddamn arm off."

"What the hell's gotten into you?" Iris asked. Gatti had never been her best friend, but he'd never been this cold to her before.

"You! That's what's gotten into all of us!" Gatti yelled, taking a step towards her.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Iris narrowed her eyes.

"You come into our fortress by means of stowing away in Dilandau-sama's Alseides unit, you attack him _twice_, then you go to his rescue like some saint? Just whose side are you on, _Princess? _" Gatti sneered. 

"I don't have to prove anything to you, especially not where my loyalties lie." Iris hissed. "What has this got to do with pissing you all off? I went to protect you precious leader. I thought you'd all appreciate that."

"You thought wrong. We all see what you are doing to Dilandau-sama. It's not right and you'll pay for it as soon as he realizes what we've all realized." Gatti pointed his finger in her face.

Iris's eyes widened. "I don't believe it. You're _jealous. _You're all _jealous_!" Iris laughed incredulously. "And just was is this '_it_' you've all realized?" Iris asked, crossing her arms.

"You don't belong here. You're a fucking fake, Iris. And you'll get yours." Gatti shoved past her and went down the hall towards Dilandau's screams.

Iris stared after him, searching her own mind and heart, trying to decided if Gatti was right.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~**Two Days Later**.~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Eric watched as Viole sharpened his blade, running the stone over it again and again. It was almost hypnotizing. 

"Whatcha' doin' that for?" Eric asked.

"So it will be sharper. Cut things, and people," Viole said with a small grin. "Easier." Viole stood and sheathed his sword. "Dilandau-sama has ordered us into a battle. And I say it's about goddamned time."

"You swear too much."

"You complain too much."

Eric grinned at that and Viole ruffled his hair affectionately. 

"Where is you battle at?" Eric asked, interested.

"Just outside of Freid. We attack at dawn, which means we'll leave in about an hour. And that means," Viole said, giving Eric his patented big brother look. "That you'll be own your own for a few days until I get back. So stay out of trouble, and stay out of the way."

"I will." Eric promised. His little face suddenly grew serious as he thought about where Viole was going. "Viole, will this battle be bad?"

"Probably. Duke Fried is a stubborn bastar-I mean, stubborn man."

"Will a lot of people get hurt?"

"Well, it _is_ a battle,"

"Will you get hurt?"

Viole smiled. "Nah, I'm invincible." 

"Really?" Eric asked, his eyes shinning with hope.

"You bet. Untouchable." Viole smiled as he mock-punched Eric on his chin.

"That's good." Eric frowned again, his little mind working. "Um, Viole?"

"Yeah?" Viole said, busily preparing.

"What about Iris? Will my sister get hurt?"

Viole's hands stilled, and closed his eyes, sighing. "Listen, squirt. I can't tell you the future," Viole quickly continued as Eric's chin began to tremble. "But I can promise you one thing. We'll do all we can to make sure she doesn't get hurt, alright?"

Eric smiled weakly and tossed his little arms around Viole's waist. "Even though I'm still mad at her, I still don't want her to get hurt, ya know?" Eric sniffed.

"Of course you don't. She's your sister." Viole patted Eric's back.

"Um, Viole?" Eric said quietly.

"What?"

"Maybe, when you're protecting Iris I mean, you could let her get punched like, twice maybe." Eric said.

Viole laughed at that. "You sure, squirt?"

"Well, maybe just once." Eric looked up and grinned at Viole.

~*~*~*~

Iris shivered as her Alseides roared to life under her fingers. She'd only had two weeks worth of training with it, and didn't feel at all comfortable with its operations. On top of that, she couldn't believe she was actually going into battle. It was a sort of rush, she supposed, but she still felt a pang of regret and guilt for fighting on the wrong side. Iris tried not to think about that. She needed to concentrate if she was to stay alive. 

She had a plan. Her days as a Zaibach dragonslayer were over.

She flicked on her communications device and spoke into the receiver. "H-hello? Testing…" she spoke carefully.

She heard a few voices chuckle. "We're here, Iris. Relax." Miguel's voice crackled back at her through the speaker.

"Does anyone know where we're headed yet?" Iris asked, trying in vain to calm her jumping insides.

"Freid," a voice hissed. Iris knew it was Gatti by his impatient sigh.

"Yes, that part I knew, smartass." Iris said back into the mouthpiece, causing some scattered chuckles. "I meant _where_ in Freid?"

"Dilandau-sama has the coordinates. He will lead us there." Another female voice spoke back to her, Refina.

"Where is he?" Iris wondered out loud, looking out of her Alseides and at the empty red one to her left.

Dilandau appeared suddenly and climbed wordlessly up and into his melef. He shut himself in and grabbed the controls, bringing his melef to the edge of the hanger. He'd been silent like this for two days, only speaking when it was an absolute necessity. His face was always blank and even the flame that seemed to always burn deep in his garnet eyes had seemed to simmer out and was now a small flicker, ready to go out at any moment. 

The slayers were all worried about him of course, and had noticed the change immediately. They were helpless, however, because Dilandau would not let anyone near him. 

Dilandau's voice suddenly rang out, though dull and lifeless as it was, and all the dragonslayers snapped into attention. "Stay close together, do not break formation until we've past through the city gates. Let's go."

The slayers waited for the happy giggle that always seemed to happen whenever Dilandau snapped his melef into fly mode and dove towards a battle.

It never came. Not so much as a small chuckle was heard as they all silently flew from the Vione. 

Iris heard her intercom screech a bit as she tried very hard to concentrate on keeping her melef steady when the currents of wind hit it. She then heard Miguel's voice crackle through. 

"Iris? How are you doing? You alright?"

"I'm fine, Miguel. Why shouldn't I be?" Iris struggled with her controls, sweat beading on her temples.

"The wind's pretty haywire today, just making sure you're holding out."

Miguel hadn't kissed Iris again since the one occurrence in the hanger two days before, in fact he'd barely spoken to her. Iris was happy for that, however, because being around him was now uncomfortable, and she resented him for doing that to their friendship.

"I'm still up here, aren't I?" Iris snapped, gritting her teeth as the controls fought with her.

"Oh, ok. Just call if you need help,"

"I won't."

"Alright. Iris?"

"What?" Iris shouted exasperated.

"Stay safe." Miguel said quietly. 

Iris softened. "You too, Miguel."

A chorus of 'Awww' and 'ain't that sweet's were heard over the intercom, and Iris smiled a little. Miguel just blushed.

"Enough. Prepare to land. Stealth cloaks." Dilandau's voice ordered as they neared the attack sight.

A deathly quiet fell over the group as they each prepared themselves for battle.

Dilandau's Alseides dove for the ground, and the Dragonslayers all followed in suit, landing in perfect form all around him, and snapping their Stealth cloaks up as soon as they inactivated their flight modes. 

"Fan out, destroy any and all military devices you see. Cripple them." Dilandau stated as he began to march forward.

The doors to the city were incinerated by Gatti's flame-thrower and they invaded.

Iris tried not to look. She tried not to see the immediate death and carnage that took place, but she couldn't help but see it; it was everywhere. It overcame her so that she almost forgot her plan. 

She shook herself, mentally and physically as she took a deep breath and called on some deep recess of inner strength. She maneuvered her melef around, trying to find the palace. She spotted it, and her heart began to race. So close…

"Iris, where are you going?" Miguel's voice rang through her intercom. Dammit, that meant everyone heard him. He's going to ruin everything!

"I saw troops this way, I'm going to investigate." Iris lied.

"I'll cover you," Miguel offered.

"No, you've got plenty to do here. There weren't many, I'll be fine."

"Iris-"

"Miguel, look out!" Iris yelled as a Freidian melef raised its sword behind Miguel's Alseides.

As soon as Miguel was involved in that battle, Iris moved away from him and towards the castle. 

"Please let there be someone here who will listen to me." Iris prayed as she maneuvered her way through the streets. Freid and Rolowen hadn't always been the best of friends, but Zaibach was a shared enemy by the two countries, and surely they would help her.

Suddenly, her Alseides shook violently and iris realized she'd been attacked. Grunting, she turned her melef around and activated her crima claw, wrapping the liquid metal around the other melef's sword. "Listen to me!" she cried. "I am the crowned princess of Rolowen! I need your help! Please stop!" Iris yelled as the melef only shook free of her crima claw's hold.

"I don't care of your one of Gaea's Gods! You're in a Zaibach melef and that means you have to die!" an angry voice yelled, taking another swing at her. 

Iris managed to block it, and tried to plead with the man again. "Please, sir! I speak the truth! I am Iris Rolowen and I have been forced to fight for Zaibach! I need your help!"

"Shut up!" the man roared as he cut off her Alseides right arm.

"Dammit! Listen to me!" Iris was frightened now, her plan wasn't working as she'd hoped. Tears of frustration and panic began to gather in her eyes.

The melef in front of her was suddenly incinerated and Iris gasped, looking up.

The red guymelef stood behind where the enemy melef had fallen, and it's flame-thrower was still pointing at her.

Dilandau lowered the Alseide's arm, but did not move from in front of Iris. He'd heard every word of the conversation, and was seething now. Enraged that she'd dare cross him and Zaibach.

Iris was shaking, she feared that Dilandau knew exactly what had happened and what she was up to. But she couldn't give up now, not when she was so close. Once she was safe inside of Freid, she could demand her brother back from Zaibach, and then they'd start a new life. Somehow everything would work out. It had to. The palace was only a few hundred yards away…

Iris looked up quickly, and saw that Dilandau's melef had not moved. It didn't matter what she felt for him. She couldn't live a lie. She unhooked herself from everything on the inside quickly, never taking her eyes off of his melef, in case he was to exit his also.

Dilandau saw the movement inside of the cockpit of the Alseides, and guessed at Iris's plan. The palace was only a short distance away…

She was going to run.

"Iris, don't-" Dilandau barked as he saw her hatch pop open. 

"May the Gods protect me," Iris whispered, then dropped out of her melef.

She ran.

"Iris!" Dilandau yelled, then quickly disengaged himself from his Alseides. "Idiot," he yelled to no one as he dropped from his own melef and took off after her.

"Help me!" Iris shrieked as she sprinted towards the palace walls. She could see men guarding the tops of the walls as she ran nearer. _"Yes!" _she thought, running harder. _"They'll open the gates for me and then I'll be safe…"_

"Iris! Stop!" Dilandau yelled as he slowly gained on her.

Iris turned her head and saw the warlord running after her. She gasped and forced her legs to move faster. Her armored jacket was heavy on her shoulders, and Iris unbuckled it as she ran, letting it fall to the ground. Now she could pump her arms faster and run freer. "Please! Guards! Help me!" 

Of course the guards didn't hear her cries for help. Nor did they recognize her royal face. All they saw was a soldier of Zaibach running towards the palace with her captain right behind her. 

All they saw were enemies. And they treated them as such.

The archer pulled his arrow back, and aimed for Iris's heart.

Iris thought the archer was pointing at her, so she began to wave her hands wildly, catching the attention of two other archers on the gates. They also aimed their stone arrow heads for her chest. 

Dilandau saw all of this as if it were happening in slow motion. He sprinted for Iris just as the first archer loosed his arrow. Dilandau jumped. He pushed Iris to the side, but the archer had been too fast, and his aim had been true. The arrow pierced Iris's chest, just above her heart. Iris screamed and fell. Dilandau saw her face then, and he didn't think he'd ever forget her expression.

Her eyes were laced with pain, but also with despair and sadness. It was almost as if she didn't understand what was happening to her.

The other two archers loosed their arrows and one struck Iris in her leg, just above her knee, and the other pierced the skin of Dilandau's upper arm.

Dilandau cursed, but Iris's eyes just widened more as tears came to them. The pain was overwhelming her, just as her other emotions swirled through her brain and clouded her thinking.

__

'Why did they shoot me? Won't anyone help me? Won't anyone listen? Why…" Iris's thoughts trailed off as her consciousness began to flicker. 

"Iris? Iris!" Dilandau shook her shoulders, then swore as he saw her eyes roll back in her head. Her blood was flowing freely from both of her wounds now. Dilandau tried to pick her up and carry her in his arms, but the arrow in his upper left bicep disputed that decision rather stubbornly. He grabbed Iris under her arms and drug her to a sheltered ally way. There, Dilandau gritted his teeth and yanked the arrow from his arm.

Choice words echoed off the ally's stone walls.

Dilandau removed his armored jacket and then ripped his undershirt over his head and into three pieces. The first, he tied around his arm. 

Dilandau then looked down at Iris, and decided the best time to remove the arrows from her body would be now, seeing as though she was not conscious. He knelt down and grabbed the one protruding from her chest. While he gripped the arrow, he wondered if he should even bother. She'd betrayed him and his country. She was a traitor. She didn't deserve to live.

Dilandau ripped the arrow out, and then immediately tied the biggest piece of his undershirt around her chest and arm, creating a bandage to help stop the bleeding. He moved his hand to the other arrow, then smiled. 

No. He'd leave that one until she was awake.

That would only be the beginning of the punishment she'd go through.

Dilandau used his sword to cut the end of the arrow off, leaving only enough protruding so that it was easy to grip. He carefully slung Iris over his shoulder and took the winding ally ways back to his guymelef. When he walked back out in to the open, he almost dropped to his knees at what he saw. His heart nearly stopped. 

The dragonslayers were being annihilated left and right. They were out numbered five to one, and were barely holding up. 

Freid had known they were coming. They had to have. They'd been prepared.

"Damn you, Duke Freid. One day your head will be mine." Dilandau muttered as he lay Iris on the ground and climbed into his melef. He settled inside, yelling in his intercom for the slayers to fall back. He picked up Iris in his liquid metal crima claw, and then abruptly handed her to another slayer. It turned out to be Gatti. "Gatti! Take her and return to the Vione! All of you!"

"Dilandau-sama! What about you?" Gatti called, taking the unconscious Iris into his own liquid metal claw.

"Go! That's an order!" Dilandau yelled and made his way in his Alseides to a fallen Dragonslayer's melef. Three other melefs surrounded it and were mercilessly beating it to the ground. Dilandau let fly with his flame-thrower at the melef nearest to the fallen Alseides and then dispatched of the others with his crima claw.

"Viole!" Dilandau called, recognizing the melef. "Viole, can you get out of your unit?"

"D-Dilandau-sama," a weak voice whispered into his intercom.

A broken and bloodied body fell from the cockpit of the Alseides and rolled to the ground. It didn't move from that position.

Dilandau leaned down and picked Viole up with his crima claw, wrapping him safely in he liquid metal.

Viole weakly raised his head. "Thank you, Dilandau-sama…" Viole managed as he coughed and passed out.

"Hang on, Viole." Dilandau switched his melef into flight mode and took off towards the Vione.


	10. Part 10

For the second time in her life, and Iris thought, the second time too many, Iris awoke to a tremendous amount of pain. She moaned pitifully as immediate tears sprung to her eyes.

__

'I am a princess, damn it!' She wailed inside her mind. _'_ _I shouldn't have to put up with this shit!'_

"You're awake," a voice came from near her.

It wasn't Dilandau and Iris thanked the Gods for that much at least. She didn't recognize the voice at first. In fact, when she cracked open her eyes, she didn't recognize her surroundings at all. She was leaning against a tree, with long grass up around her body. Iris blinked up at the sky, and instead of a roof, she saw the mystic moon shining down on her. 

"What the…" Iris whispered.

"They knew." The voice said again. Iris recognized it now; it was Miguel who spoke to her.

Iris felt incredibly weak, and this fact baffled her. She couldn't remember a thing. The last memory she had was of Dilandau calling the slayers to his throne room and informing them of their battle. 

She tried to turn her head, and failed, only able to turn her eyes in the direction of Miguel's voice. One knee was brought up and his arm was draped over it. He held a stick in his hand, and slowly rotated it over the fire.

"What do you mean?" Iris whispered weakly, her vision beginning to blur and spin.

"Freid. They knew we were coming. They were ready for us. They trapped us." Miguel pulled the stick out of the fire, examined what was on it, and then continued spinning it over the flames. "We had no choice but to retreat."

"Why…" Iris took a deep breath, wondering why it tired her so to speak. "Where's the Vionne?"

"They got to that too. The Vionne had to disappear because Freid's cruisers were going after it. It will send it's coordinates to us once the search has died down."

Iris suddenly realized how clipped Miguel's voice was. He was speaking to her as if she were some prisoner, not like the girl he kissed only a few nights before.

"Miguel, what's wrong-" Iris began.

"You should rest. Your injuries are very bad, and Dilandau told us to keep you alive." Miguel said quickly, cutting her off. He then walked away from her then, and over to where she could see the other slayers were sitting around a bigger fire.

__

'Injuries…?" Iris looked down and saw the blood that covered her torso and leg. She also saw the arrow that was still lodged above her knee. That sight made her wretch, and she would have vomited had there been anything in her stomach. Instead, her dry heaves caused her chest wound to start bleeding again.

The pain was so intense she nearly lost consciousness. She tried to move her hand to touch her chest in order to find her wound, but found she could not move her arm. She couldn't move either of them. She soon discovered she couldn't move at all. 

Iris squinted down at her middle, and soon found the reason why she had felt like Miguel was talking to a prisoner. She _was_ one. Iris had not been leaning against a tree, she was tied to it. Her wrists were bound and her arms were crossed over her chest, and then her entire body was bound around the tree. Her ankles were tied as well.

"What is happening?" Iris couldn't focus anymore. Everything that was happening in her brain was proving to be too much. The last thing she heard before she dropped back into the black oblivion was Gatti's voice.

"I should rip that arrow out of her knee and slit her throat with it…"

"Watch your mouth, Gatti. You don't know what Dilandau-sama would do if he heard you saying that." Chesta warned, biting off the rather overdone meat that Miguel had cooked.

"Yeah. He'd probably be pissed because he want's to do that himself." Dalet joked. He laughed when Gatti grinned and tossed a piece of meat at him.

"What is your problem, Chesta? Do you think that Master Dilandau is at all _happy_ with the Princess? She betrayed him, Chesta. She betrayed Zaibach, and all of us. Do you know what happened to the last person who did that?" Gatti asked.

Chesta looked at him carefully. "No,"

"Well neither do I, because no one has ever dared to do it before."

"Or they just didn't live to tell the tale," Guimel said as he sat down by the fire with the rest of the slayers.

"We'll soon find out," Dalet said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Chesta asked.

Dalet motioned to the left. The dragonslayers all turned to see their leader come out of the forest carrying a medium sized deer-like (Do they have deer in Gaea?) creature over his shoulders. He dropped it next to them, splattering some of them with its blood. Of course they knew better than to complain, their captain was _not_ in a good mood.

"Skin it, and start it cooking. It will take a while to roast." He wiped a bloody hand across his blood-spattered forehead and then dropped his hand to the hilt of his sword. "How is Viole?"

"He hasn't woken up yet, sir, but we've stopped his bleeding, and set his broken leg." Chesta offered while he and the others removed their daggers and set about preparing their dinner.

"Is she awake?" he asked quietly, his voice low and dangerous.

Everyone knew he was speaking to Miguel. He'd been the only one to go near her since they'd landed, not accounting that Gatti carried her there. They'd all been too afraid to be accused of treason along with her, so they avoided her like the plague.

When no one answered, Dilandau struck Miguel with his foot. "Miguel?" he barked.

"Yes, sir, she is." Miguel admitted quietly, silently asking Iris to forgive him.

"I want this ready when I get back." Dilandau started towards the tree Iris was tied to.

"Yes, Dilandau-sama," they all chorused quietly as they wordlessly went about their business of cleaning the animal.

Dilandau knelt next to Iris and sighed, closing his eyes. '_What a waste',_ he thought.

__

You can't kill her, Dilandau.

The voice didn't even surprise him. It usually popped up when his thoughts were on Iris. "I don't have much choice," Dilandau said, removing his dagger from its sheath and slicing the ropes that held her to the tree. He left her wrists and ankles tied, knowing it would be easier this way when she began to kick and lash out…and she would.

__

It is not your place to punish her. Her crime was against Zaibach, not you.

Dilandau laughed at that while he picked her up. "I _am_ Zaibach, woman. And she is my slayer. I don't see how it cannot be my responsibility to punish her."

The voice hesitated, then spoke quickly. _You won't go through with it._

Dilandau chuckled, placing Iris at the edge of the pond he'd just walked to as he kicked off 

his boots, removed his armored jacket and his undershirt. "If you are truly trying to talk me out of this, the _worst _thing you can do is tell me that I won't do it. I will automatically have to prove you wrong. I'm surprised you didn't already know that," Dilandau added smirking as he picked Iris up and took her in to the water with him. "All-seeing-one."

Dilandau pulled Iris out into the pond and held her head above the water. She had been unconscious until the water had hit her, yet she was still too weak to struggle, so all she could do was lie still as Dilandau drug her out farther. She wasn't sure of her surroundings yet as she teetered on the edge of awareness. She only knew that she was moving, and at the moment, didn't care why.

__

I can see that you don't want to kill her, Dilandau. I can see your heart warming for her.

Dilandau managed to smile at that one. "Yeah, I know. And it pisses the hell out of me. Why does she make me feel this way?" he asked the voice, not knowing what else to do. 

He'd had this battle with himself during his hunt for the deer(like thing) he'd killed for him and his slayers to eat. 

Treason. It was serious. Too serious to go unpunished, yet he knew he wouldn't be able to kill her. He thought about letting Gatti have go at her, since Dilandau had noticed that Gatti did not really tolerate Iris all that well, but then he knew even as he thought it that he'd kill Gatti if he touched her. Like he'd killed the man in the guymelef that had dared to attack Iris, before she'd…

Dilandau clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. What she'd done was unforgivable, he knew that. If he didn't kill her, then she'd never be allowed back in Zaibach again. Either way, he'd lost her.

'_When did you ever have her?'_ he asked himself. '_When did you start wanting her?'_

The moment she jumped on you with that dagger of hers. I remember, The voice chimed in, rather amused. _I thought it was sick that you'd be attracted to someone who was trying to kill you, but then I remembered whom I was talking about. Now that I think of it, it's quite charming really…_

"Shut up before I puke everywhere."

The voice laughed.

Iris opened her eyes. Voices were echoing around her, she couldn't quite hear them, and she soon discovered that was because her ears were underwater. _Underwater?! _

Iris gasped and Dilandau tightened his hold on her. She tried to swim by flipping over onto her stomach and kicking her legs, but there were two problems with that solution. One, Dilandau held her so that she could not flip over, and two, her legs were bound together.

'_Ok,'_ she thought, trying to calm herself. '_No problem…'_

Water got into her mouth when she tried to speak, and she began to sputter and cough. Dilandau raised her head up a bit more and pulled her deeper into the lake until he was chest deep in it. "Keep your mouth shut and that won't happen again." His voice was cold and hard as steel. Iris winced. This was not going to be good.

The arrow in her knee made itself known to her and Iris gasped. "Gods, what is that?" Iris gasped, breathless with pain.

"An arrow is embedded half-way through your knee joint. I wouldn't move around too much."

"An arrow? How the he-" Iris was cut off as her head was shoved underwater. Dilandau grabbed the arrow in her knee, shut his eyes, and wrenched it out. Air bubbles exploded to the surface of the water as the lake swallowed up Iris's scream of agony.

Dilandau clenched his jaw and sighed, waiting for the air bubbles to slow and lessen. When they stopped completely, he yanked her head to the surface. Iris's eyes were clenched shut and she gasped huge breaths of air into her lungs. She was biting her lip and forcing the air through her nose as she tried not to scream again. The water around them was beginning to turn red, and Iris shut her eyes again when she saw it in order not to pass out.

Dilandau began to move her, he stopped her from floating on her back and held her so that she was in front of him, and her back was to him. Her legs dangled uselessly in the water, and Iris didn't dare try to move either her injured leg or her good leg, for fear of feeling more horrible pain. She felt his hands at her waist as they began to lift up her soft undershirt. Her hands immediately went to his. "What…are you doing?" she asked, still weak with pain and fatigue. 

Dilandau removed her hands from his and went back to his task of removing her undershirt. "The wound in your chest needs to be cleaned. Or would you rather die slowly of a horrible flesh eating infection? Now stop bitching at me and put your arms up."

Iris opened her mouth to complain, then sighed and put her arms up. Fine. If he wanted to take her shirt off, who was she to stop him?

Dilandau pulled the undershirt off and swished it around in the water, cleaning it as best as he could. He pulled it out of the water and wrung it. "Turn around."

Iris closed her eyes and steeled her nerve. If he wanted an eyeful, he was going to get one. But _she _was going to control this situation, not him. 

She turned in the water, her eyes directly on his as she did. The water covered more than half of her chest, but he could see enough to not need his imagination. Dilandau was completely professional, much to Iris's dismay, and looked only at her wound. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he dipped her undershirt into the water and pulled it out, squeezing it and letting the lake water run over her wound.

Iris hissed as the water stung her marred flesh, and Dilandau's eyes flickered up to hers for a moment, then back down to her wound.

Iris didn't understand at all. He was being gentle. He was being careful and considerate. 

He wasn't being Dilandau.

The moment Iris had awakened in the water, she thought her life was over. She thought Dilandau was going to drown her for what she had done in the battle. For trying to run away; for becoming a traitor. And when Dilandau had shoved her head beneath the surface, she knew she was going to die. But then he had removed the arrow from her leg, and now he was washing her wounds with hands as gentle as a mothers.

Iris hissed in pain again.

Well, almost like a mother's.

"What are you doing?" Iris asked, finally unable to take her confusion any more.

"I thought I'd explained this already-"

"Why haven't you killed me?"

Dilandau blinked, taken by surprise at her question. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "I don't know." He said quietly.

Iris's heart doubled in its speed. "W-what do you mean you don't-"

"I mean that I don't know, ok?" Dilandau shouted, shaking her a bit. "What were you thinking, Iris? How could you have just…I mean what made you _think_ that you would be safe?" Dilandau asked her, incredulous.

Iris blinked, now her turn to be taken by surprise. "S-safe?"

"What in Gaea made you believe that those soldiers on that wall would believe you? That they would just let you in, no questions asked when you were wearing a fucking _Zaibach_ uniform? Hm?" He continued to shake her shoulders in frustration until she winced as her wounds were jostled. 

Memories came flooding back. "Those soldiers, they shot me," she whispered almost just to herself.

"Of course they shot you. An enemy was running straight at them. What did you think they would do?"

"I'm not their enemy! I'm not-"

"Yes you are, Iris. You are a Dragonslayer of the Zaibach army." Dilandau said coldly, releasing her shoulders. "At least, you were." 

Iris swallowed, fighting to keep her head above water because he let go of her. "I was," Iris said, fighting the water. 

Dilandau swam up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her head above water again. "You were, because most likely now you will be put to death." 

Iris stopped fighting the water and held still in Dilandau's arms. The feeling of his bare arms around her bare middle was a bit unsettling to her. "I thought you said you couldn't kill me." 

"I didn't say I couldn't, I said I didn't know why I hadn't," Dilandau said, turning her towards him. "And that doesn't mean someone else won't." He turned her all the way around and kept his arms around her and his eyes on hers. "Why did you run?" he asked.

"I was scared." Iris whispered.

"Of battling?"

"No. Of what I had become. I didn't want to kill, and especially not in the name of Zaibach." She looked up and saw anger flash in his eyes. She didn't want him to change back into the hardened Dilandau just yet, not when she was so close to getting under the shield he always had up around his heart. "Please understand, Dilandau. Would you feel right to battle in the name of another country? Would you kill in the name of my country? In the name of Rolowen?" Iris asked, begging him to understand his position. 

"If that was the country I was loyal to. I would battle for whomever had my loyalty. You promised your loyalty-"

"I never-"

"You promised your loyalty when you accepted your position as a dragonslayer." Dilandau continued harshly. 

"You will never understand the position I was forced into. I had no choice."

"No choice? Forced into?" Dilandau tossed back his head and laughed at her. "Please. Who _forced_ you to jump into my guymelef?"

Iris lowered her head at that. He had her there.

"And you _did_ have a choice about whether or not to become a dragonslayer." Dilandau pointed out quietly.

"Oh, yes. Death was such an appealing option." Iris rolled her eyes.

"But an option none-the-less."

"No, it wasn't. I couldn't leave Eric alone."

"And yet that is exactly what you were doing when you ran for the castle. You would have been safe behind the walls and Eric would still have been in Zaibach."

"No!" Iris demanded. "As soon as I made my identity made known, as an ally of Rolowen, they would have ordered you to give him up. With Freid's military prowess there is no way Zaibach would invite their attacks! You would have given up Eric."

Dilandau stared at her, a hint of sadness in his eyes. It faded quickly into bitterness and anger. "You had this all planned out didn't you? How long were you plotting against Zaibach? How long have I been harboring a traitor in my slayers?" Dilandau demanded.

Iris looked at him. "Take me back to the shore."

Dilandau narrowed his eyes at her. "You will answer your superior." He said dangerously.

Iris looked up at him, her eyes misted with tears. He was gone again. Lost behind his shield. "You are no longer my superior. You said so yourself. I'm not a slayer anymore, just a prisoner." 

"Then I should just let you drown." 

"But you won't," Iris ventured, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Will you?"

"What are you doing?" Dilandau asked, alarms going off in his head left and right.

"Trying to get though to you. Trying to get past this iron blockade you have surrounding you and your feelings." Iris brought her face closer to Dilandau's. "I want to know what you feel."

"Why?" Dilandau breathed, unsure of what to do, having never been in this situation before.

"Does it matter?" Iris asked, and leaned in to touch her lips to his. She felt Dilandau go completely tense, but he didn't pull away from her. She took this as about the best sign she was going to get, and so she pulled herself closer to Dilandau and tried to deepen her kiss.

Now her feelings were out in the open. Now she had to wait for him to respond; she was just afraid of what that response would be. He could reject her, or he could kiss her back.

And, of course, there was always the possibility that he would kill her.

Her heart leapt a bit when she felt his body relax, and then, slowly and full of uncertainty, his lips begin to move under hers. His hands went around her back and pulled her closer to him, bringing her bare chest up against his bare chest. This sensation was completely new, and Iris blushed furiously. She moved her hand to the back of his neck, and Dilandau fisted his hand in her hair. She felt his tongue touch her lips, and Iris lost sense of everything.

Suddenly Dilandau pulled away, and Iris opened her eyes, forcing herself back to the surface of her mind. "What's-" she asked, still a bit wobbly and giddy from the kiss.

She heard it then. Marching. And lots of it. 

Iris turned from Dilandau's arms and looked towards the shore. She saw an army of men making their way to the shore of the lake, and many were holding onto dragonslayer hostages. The slayers that had been caught were bloody, and some unconscious, telling her there must have been a horrible fight.

Dilandau took off swimming for the shore, trying to reach his sword before the soldiers could, but he proved not fast enough.

"Hold it, Captain." A man grinned, holding his sword to Dilandau's throat just as he had climbed out of the water. "Just hold it right there."

Dilandau swore and rose slowly, the man's sword never leaving it's mark on his throat. Dilandau recognized the armor the soldiers wore. They were from Freid. "Let my slayers go," he warned in a hard voice.

The man laughed. "Now why in bloody hell would I want to do that? You just stay where you are, lad. Griscus, come here and restrain this boy for me please." 

A large man came from the foliage behind Dilandau and wrenched his arms behind his back. Dilandau kicked his foot up behind him, and hit the man squarely in his balls. The big man doubled over and Dilandau fought free. Iris watched all this from the bank, struggling to get her undershirt back on. When she finally succeeded, she jumped out of the water and limped towards the fray as fast as her injured leg would allow.

Dilandau punched two more guards out of his way, but there were just too many of them. He fought like a demon, biting, punching, kicking, anything to get free. 

"Stay still, damn you!" A voice called at him. Dilandau growled and fought against the soldiers. It took three of them to hold Dilandau still so that the man could get close enough to plunge a needle into Dilandau's neck. Dilandau roared at the man and fought for all he was worth, but the drug was quick, and he soon began to falter and weaken. "You'll pay for this…" he promised as the drug took a firm hold on him. 

The last thing he heard before dropping completely out of consciousness was Iris yelling at the soldiers not to hurt him. 


	11. Part 11

Iris sat in the room she'd been given and brushed out her long red hair. She took slow, even strokes through the curly tresses until they were silky soft waves. She set the brush down on the vanity and sighed at her reflection. The dress that the royals of Fried had loaned her was beautiful, and it felt good to wear a dress again after so long. Strange, but good. The neckline of the dress scooped low enough so that part of her injury could be seen. She picked up the powder on the vanity and patted at it again, but the bruising refused to be covered completely. She put the powder down, admitting defeat, and grabbed her cane, leaning on it heavily as she stood.

Her knee was mending, albeit slowly, but it was mending. She walked out of her room and into the halls of Freid's castle. She limped with her cane down to the throne room and was greeted kindly as she sat on a chair in the room to wait. 

Today she would finally see her brother again.

After capturing Dilandau and the other slayers, the soldiers and helped Iris back to the castle, explaining that someone on the wall had indeed recognized her as the princess of the destroyed Rolowen that day of the attack. The General had been informed of her situation as a hostage of Zaibach and had sent a search party out for her.

Iris didn't bother to fill them in on the obvious holes in their theory.

Finding Dilandau and his slayers had just been a mere coincidence of the search, though the king thought it a happy one, and Iris wasn't so sure how she felt. She was happy to be free of Zaibach, of course, but hated the fact that her friends were imprisoned in the dungeon. Dilandau was kept in a different part of the castle in a drug-induced sleep, and had been kept in that condition for two days now.

Iris had informed the king about her brother's situation, and they had made a deal with Zaibach. Iris's brother for their slayers and the Captain.

Eric was to be delivered today, and Iris was nervous and excited about it. Suddenly, the doors of the throne room were opened, and four Zaibach guards entered, all surrounding a little boy. Iris leaned on her cane and stood, tears springing to her eyes when she glimpsed her brother.

Eric looked around the room warily. When he spotted Iris, he was shocked at first, then relief washed through his body like cool water. She wasn't in a Dragonslayer uniform. She must have only done that so that she could trap them here. He grinned and tried to run for Iris.

When Iris saw him smile at her, all her fears were washed away as her tears cascaded down her face with relief. But when he tried to run to his big sister, the guards grabbed him and stopped him.

"Not so fast, junior." The guard looked up at the king. "Our men?" he questioned.

"They are being escorted here as we speak." The king smiled.

"Unhand him!" Iris demanded when she saw Eric wince at the hard grip the guard had on his arm.

"Not until we see the Slayers and Captain Albatou." The guard demanded, pulling Eric back into the middle of their little group. 

Eric frowned and looked at Iris. She smiled at him encouragingly. "It's alright, Eric. Just a bit longer."

The doors to the throne room opened again, and the slayers were marched in one by one, with a guard behind each of them.

The Zaibach narrowed his eyes. "You're short one slayer, and where is Captain Albatou?"

Eric grew tired of waiting, and since the guard's grip on his arm had unknowingly lessened, he decided that he wanted to see his older sister _now_, not later. He made a run for it, tossing his little arms open. "Iris!" he squealed with delight. 

Iris's eyes went wide when she saw him run towards her. "Eric, no!"

"Now," the king said, and archers loosed their crossbow arrows at the four Zaibach guards, killing each of them before they even had time to reach for their blades. The Dragonslayers struggled in protest, and were each rewarded with the hilt of a sword in their backs, knocking them all unconscious as the guards carried out their king's plan to the letter.

"Iris!" Eric cried out in alarm and buried his head in his sister's shoulder as Iris leaned down to pull him into her arms protectively. 

"It's alright, Eric." She cooed, stroking his hair and turning away from the bloody scene.

"You did it!" Eric said, his voice muffled with tears and Iris's shoulder. "You said you'd payback Zaibach for what they did and you did it! You caught all the slayers and that bad Dilandau-guy! I knew you would do it, and I'm sorry for being mad at you. I just didn't understand that you had it all planned out. I'm sorry!" Eric began crying harder and tightening his little arms around her.

"Oh, Eric," Iris sighed, placing her cheek on his head and holding him tight. Should she just let well enough alone and let him just believe that about her? Could she lie to him like that? '_Not now,'_ Iris told herself. '_I can deal with that later. Right now I have my brother back and that is all that matters in the world.'_

That wasn't exactly true, she knew, as a part of her mind was forever with Dilandau. 

"I'm tired, Iris. They wouldn't let me sleep last night." Eric said, leaning on Iris.

"Well I know just the place where we can take care of that problem." Iris said, and leaned on her cane to stand.

"Is it a warm comfy bed?" Eric asked, smiling sleepily up at her. "Cuz I haven't had one of those in a while. Those cots on the fortress were not soft at all."

"It's a wonderfully soft bed with hundreds of pillows and a soft down comforter." Iris said, grabbing his hand in her left and her cane in her right.

Eric yawned and noticed her cane. "Are you hurt, Iris?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Just a little bit, Eric. You needn't worry. This way," Iris said as she led him through the doors and out into the hall. Before she left, she turned to the king and bowed as deep as her leg would allow. "Thank you, your majesty. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. You have no idea what it means to me to have my brother back safe."

"You're welcome, child." The king nodded his head to her and smiled, pleased with her actions.

Iris tucked Eric into her bed, and smiled down at him. "Warm and comfy?" she asked.

"The comfiest." Eric yawned. "Sing to me, Iris. Please."

"Alright." Iris began a lullaby that her mother had taught her. She sang softly to Eric and soothingly brushed her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes, smiling slightly as sleep took his hand and pulled him down into its endless depths. 

"Hush now, my baby. Be still, love, don't cry. Sleep as you're rocked by the stream.

Sleep and remember my river lullaby, and I'll be with you when you dream.

Drift on a river that flows through my arms. Drift as I'm singing to you.

I see you smiling so peaceful and calm. Holding you I'm smiling too.

Here in my arms, safe from all harm…holding you I'm smiling too…."***

Iris curled around her brother and fell fast asleep beside him, holding his little body close to hers and promising to never let go again.

***This lullaby is not an original. It is a version of the one sung in the movie "The Prince of Egypt". I thought it was a sweet and wonderful lullaby and would work well here. I don't own anything that has to do with "The Prince of Egypt", however, and recommend that you all see it if you haven't. It's a beautiful movie. 

~*~*~*~

Gatti paced in his cell, mad as all hell. He kicked the bars with his foot and swore loudly.

"Damn it, Gatti, if you don't sit down and just fucking relax I'm going to knock you out cold." Dalet growled, nursing a rather large cut on his lip and chin.

"This is all her fault. It's all that goddamned princess's fault." Gatti said, placing his back against the bars and sliding down into a sitting position. 

"Leave it alone, Gatti," Miguel sad quietly, absently rubbing the bruise on the back of his head.

"She lures Dilandau-sama away from us and distracts him while her precious heroes from Freid come and ambush the shit out of us. Never would have happened if Dilandau-sama had been there. He'd have heard them coming a mile away." Gatti picked up a small pebble that lay on the floor and threw it savagely against the cell wall opposite of him.

"Well he wasn't there, was he? So get over it and quit your bitching." Guimel said as the pebble that Gatti had thrown bounced into his lap.

"He wasn't there because of _her._ Everything has gone all wrong since _she's_ been here. I wish Folken had walked in a moment later-"

"Gatti! For the love of Gaea, shut your mouth!" Miguel snapped his head up, his eyes tossing daggers towards Gatti.

"You gonna shut it for me then, Miguel?" Gatti taunted dangerously.

"If you keep it up, then yes I suppose I'll have to."

"How noble of you, Labariel. Protecting the princess's honor, are you? Forget about what you owe to Dilandau-sama?"

That's all it took. Miguel launched himself at Gatti and forced him up by grabbing his jacket. He pushed him up against the bars, with his forearm against Gatti's throat, and his other hand immobilizing Gatti by pushing on the pressure point on top of his collarbone with his thumb. (Do I know if this is a real pressure point? No, I just know it hurts like hell to push there real hard, try it…carefully, of course)

Gatti grunted and struggled, and Miguel brought his face close. "Don't ever question my loyalties to Dilandau-sama? Get me? Not _ever._"

"Just making sure…Miguel," Gatti gasped, having trouble breathing because Miguel's forearm was squeezing his esophagus shut. "It's hard to tell…with you…sneaking around with her…at night. Tell me, Miguel…is she _that_ much of a slut?" Gatti grinned at the pale rage in Miguel's face before shoving him off with his foot. Miguel fell back and Gatti pounced on him, turning him onto his stomach and locking his arms painfully behind him. "I wondered as much when she tried to sneak into my bunk at night," he whispered in Miguel's ear, laughing when Miguel tried in vain to buck him off. "She _begged_ me for it, Miguel. Something about how you just couldn't please her?" Gatti laughed again as Miguel screamed at him to shut up.

Dalet and Guimel grabbed hold of Gatti and dragged him off of Miguel. Chesta grabbed onto Miguel when he immediately sprung up and went after Gatti's blood. 

"Knock it off, both of you! This is ridiculous. It isn't getting us anywhere and it won't prove anything." Chesta said, letting go of his hold on Miguel's arm and shoving him back against the cell wall. "Grow up and get your priorities straight! Dilandau-sama and Viole are laying up there somewhere totally defenseless. I mean, who knows if Viole is still alive, and I don't even want to think about what they may do to Dilandau-sama while he's half out of it because of those damn drugs? They may decide to torture him, or _kill_ him for that matter!" all the other slayers winced a bit at this. "You both need to get your heads out of your asses and think of someone else other then yourselves for a change. You need to work together so that we can save Dilandau-sama! Gods!" Chesta sighed in frustration as he ended his little rant, and the other slayers just stared at him.

"He's absolutely right. Now both of you, shake hands and forget about the damn female, please?" Dalet said, shaking his head and mumbling things about 'this is why everyone should have a Y chromosome....', 

Refina scoffed at that. "Oh, right. That would make the world a wonderful place to live," she sneered, sarcasm dripping from her mouth. This earned her a few harsh glances, but Refina merely smiled sweetly and blew them each a kiss. 

Miguel glared at Gatti, and Gatti stared back just as harshly. Gatti was the first to submit. "To hell with this, let's just get on with it." He stuck his hand out, not quite looking Miguel in the eye. 

Miguel scowled and grabbed Gatti's hand. They shook once, very quickly, then dropped each other's hands as if the other was a leper.

"Good. Now both of you sit and lets think of a way to get ourselves out of this mess." Chesta said quietly.

"Well, we could always-" Dalet began, rather loudly.

Refina cuffed him upside his head. "Hush up, you idiot! Your marvelous plan won't do us a bit of good if every prison guard hears it,"

Dalet rubbed his head and stuck out his tongue at Refina.

"You do that again and I'll bite it off," she threatened.

Dalet wiggled his eyebrows at her. "You promise?"

Refina rolled her eyes, elbowing him in the gut rather ferociously. She leaned in to listen to the plan Chesta and Gatti were discussing as Dalet rubbed his sore ribs and followed suit.

~*~*~

Thick, sticky, black tar. Surely that is what it was. Like in the tar pits of Basram, Dilandau thought. It surrounded his legs and arms, making it impossible to move his appendages. Pound and pounds of sand held his head down, and his eyes must have been stitched shut. A weight was on his chest, something heavy, he could barely breathe.

Dilandau felt he must have been buried alive. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move, it was all very infuriating to him. 

And frightening. Though he'd be six feet under for real before he'd ever admit that.

Dilandau couldn't hold his thoughts together. The memory of what had happened was there, it was somewhere in the black void of his thoughts, and just when he'd thought he'd reached it, it would flutter away as his conscious mind decided to fail him again.

Echoes, echoes all around him. Blotches of colors hovering around him at times, only to echo for a bit them waver off. Dilandau also wondered, during this time, if he'd finally lost his mind, for he truly felt himself to be in a state of delirium. 

His mind told him to stop fighting the feeling, to just ride this experience out and let it take him to wherever it would. To let it take control.

Fuck that.

Dilandau would never let anything else take control away from him. So he continued to fight, and finally, after days of fogginess and echoes, he broke through to the surface. His memories rushed back to him, he remembered his slayers being ambushed, and he remembered the Freid soldiers. So smug and cocky. He'd wipe those shit-faced grins off their faces soon enough. He remembered swimming, he remembered…Iris. 

Iris.

New waves of emotion swept over him all at once, leaving him confused and lost in his thoughts again. He was furious with her, of course, for distracting him and letting him and his slayers be caught. But there were other feelings there as well. He knew they were new to his body, and he liked and loathed them at the same time. He hated they way she made him feel when she was near him, and he loved the surge of power he felt when it was he who made her proud face blush or cringe in fear. The feeling when she'd kissed him, when it hadn't been he in control…he'd panicked at first, knowing he wasn't in control, but then, the feeling, it had been so…

Dilandau shook his head and blinked open his eyes. No time for dealing with new feelings. Feelings were useless to him. Right now, he needed brains, and his was slowly breaking free of the drugs and returning to working order. 

Dilandau gave no outward evidence of this, however. He stayed still, and let his eyes stay fixed and unfocused whenever they sent someone to check on him. Of course, the minute they tried to pump more of that drug in his arm he'd have to break his act, but until then, he wanted to listen, to learn, and to plan.

~*~*~*~

Iris awoke to a gentle shaking of her shoulder. She tried to slap the hand sleepily away, mumbling for two more minutes, when she heard a giggle. 

"Iris, you have to wake up or you won't get any breakfast." Eric giggled as Iris tossed a pillow at him playfully.

"Why don't you be a good brother and bring me up something?" Iris mumbled into her pillow.

"I'm not your slave." Eric said, throwing the pillow back towards Iris. He was surprised however when her arm shot out and caught the pillow before it could hit her. Iris sat up and smiled at Eric, raising her eyebrow.

"You wanna bet?" Iris immediately jumped from the bed and pounced on Eric, tickling him without mercy. Eric went into fits of giggles and guffaws, trying to roll away from Iris the whole time.

The door to their room opened and an old maid stood in the doorway. She cleared her throat and looked at the two disapprovingly. 

Iris and Eric stopped and looked up from their positions on the floor. Iris pushed her hair back out of her face and looked up at the maid as if everything was normal. "Yes?" Iris asked, still pinning Eric to the floor.

The maid raised her eyebrow and sniffed a great nostril at the two before continuing. "His majesty would like to speak with you both, if you could manage to make it down to breakfast," the maid added, sniffing at them again.

Iris smirked and rolled her eyes at Eric where the maid couldn't see. Eric erupted into another fit of laughs and had to clamp his hand over his mouth. "Oh, I see. Well, we will try our best to, um, _manage_ our way down, madam. Right away."

"Will you be needing any assistance, then?" the old woman asked, not even looking at Iris, saying this not out of kindness, but out of habit.

"Oh, I don't think so. I'll think we'll manage. Can you manage?" she asked, looking down at Eric.

"I'll manage," he said, and smothered another giggle. 

"You'll manage." She looked up at the maid. "He'll manage."

"Will you manage, then, Iris?" Eric asked, fighting for a straight face.

"I'll manage to manage."

"She'll manage."

Iris looked up and smiled sweetly at the maid. "We'll manage."

The maid heaved a great sigh and shut the door.

Iris and Eric collapsed in laughter.

~*~*~*~

Folken paced in his room, high above Gaea in the Vionne. His hand to his mouth, he swished back and forth across the dimly lit room in his long cape.

Betrayed. He figured that was exactly what Freid had planned, which is why he had sent four Zaibach guards whom had no family. Well, truth be told, he'd only planned on sending three, but one man had insisted on annoying the hell out of him. It was just lucky that he too turned out to have no family.

"Folken-sama? Perhaps if we attacked on the northern side of the city, sir. The palace is closest to the Southern side, and their defenses would be drawn away, leaving the castle under-guarded so that we could collect the dragonslayers and Captain Albatou." One of the Generals offered.

"If we attack, they'll kill him. I have no doubt of that. They have no use for him, only as ransom, but they aren't interested in money." Folken growled.

"What is it they want then, Folken?" Asked the frustrated general.

"That's simple," Folken said, slanting his eyes at the general over his shoulder. "The complete and utter destruction of the Zaibach empire. It's what everyone wants."

"So what do we do then, sir?" a guard asked, after recovering from Folken's frank and to the point answer. "Just leave Dilandau and his slayers as casualties of war?"

"Gods, no." Folken said, smiling a bit. "We need him. We need them. Without Dilandau and his slayers, this war is already over."

The Generals in the room bristled a bit. "I beg your pardon, Folken. I believe our army is quite capable of defending itself."

"Shut up, you know he's right." Growled General Adelphos(sp?). "What do you propose, Folken?" Adelphos asked, knowing Folken always had a plan.

"An inside job."

"A what?"

"How the hell do you propose to do that?"

"The girl…" Adelphos guessed quietly, after the other generals had jumped up to complain. Folken nodded at him.

"What girl?"

"The AWOL dragonslayer."

"The girl who betrayed us? Why the hell do you think she'll help us? She's the one who got Captain Albatou and his slayers into this mess if you'd remember correctly."

"Anger is strong, but not a strong as the strings of the human heart." Folken said quietly.

"What is that bullshit?" one general sneered.

"Wait, are you saying that you are relying on the hope that this girl retains some sort of _feelings_ for Dilandau?" Adelphos gaped.

Folken only nodded.

"This is Dilandau Albatou we're talking about. The most evil and sadistic bastard in the entire Zaibach army. In all of Zaibach for that matter! And you're saying she has _feelings_ for him?" one general huffed.

"And he for her." Folken said, turning.

"Well now I know you're crazy. The day that monster can feel is the day I change my name to Sally."

Folken smirked a bit at that. "I have been observing them for her entire stay aboard this Vionne. I can see that they feel for each other. I've seen the affection with my own eyes. Believe me, gentlemen, it's there and it's real. She'll spring him for us, I know it. It's only a matter of time."

"So we have to wait for this love-struck princess to decide she wants to see her prince charming?" A general scoffed. "That's just great."

"We won't have to wait too long, Dornkirk-sama is seeing to that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He's using the Destiny Engine to pull on her a bit. Make up her mind for her a bit sooner. You'll see, gentlemen, you'll see." Folken walked out leaving the four demon generals of Zaibach confused and at a loss for words. 

~*~*~*~


	12. Part 12

Iris sat at the breakfast table, scooping her spoon through her porridge and swirling it around. She wondered if the slayers were getting fed. Well, she didn't care if Gatti was fed, she supposed, grinning, but the others should be. She wondered if she would be allowed to visit them. She wanted to check on them, just to see if they were being treated fairly.

_'What's fairly? They destroyed your country and killed your mother and your people. Don't forget that.'_

"How could I?" Iris sighed sadly.

"What's wrong, sis? Don't 'cha like your porridge? I ate mine all up all ready. I liked it lots. They put berries in mine!" Eric said, licking his fingers.

"Eric, you are an absolute mess. Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

Iris stood from the table and bowed to the royalty at the opposite end. "I'm going to clean up my messy brother, here," she said, and the king smiled down at Eric. "Would that be all right, your majesty?"

"Of course, Princess Iris. You are a guest, not a prisoner," Iris winced a bit at that, but the king took no notice. "You may go where you please, when you please. Within reason, of course."

"Of course," Iris said, curtsying again, and wondering what was considered 'within reason'. "Thank you your majesty."

"We'll see you tonight then? At dinner." The king said, rising and blotting a napkin across his large mouth.

"Yes, highness. Come on, Eric." Iris left the banquet hall and into the kitchen. There she net the, er, kindly maid from that morning.

"Is there anything I can help you with, miss?" she asked, looking down her nose at Iris and Eric.

Iris sighed. She was really getting annoyed with this attitude that the maid gave them. "We'll manage." She said, smiling coldly when the woman 'hmphed' and walked away.

"Holy hell, what is up her-" 

"Eric!" Iris warned, claming a wet washcloth over his mouth. "Where on Gaea did you learn to talk like that?"

"I…heard…mph…Viole say it once…" Eric answered as Iris scrubbed his face clean, then reached for his hands.

"Well, never repeat it again, understood?" Iris said, grabbing his chin in a motherly manner and looking him in the eye sternly.

"Sorry…" Eric mumbled and let her finish washing his sticky hands.

"You are forgiven." Iris said lightly.

"Iris?" 

"Yes?"

"Could we go and see Viole maybe? I kinda miss him."

Iris smiled to herself. Perfect excuse. "Sure, Eric. I wanted to see them myself. Let's find them, shall we? But, you'll have to be very quiet, all right?"

"Yeah, ok. But why?"

"Because…" Iris stumbled. "It's…the king's naptime now."

"But it's morning! He just got up!" Eric pointed out.

"Well, the king is a very busy man so he gets tired a lot, I suppose. Now hush up and follow me." Iris grabbed Eric's now clean hand and pulled him out of the kitchen and down a long hallway.

Dungeon, dungeon, where is the dungeon? Iris asked to herself as she pulled Eric down numerous hallways and staircases. 

"Iris?"

"What?"

"Do you know where we're going at all?" Eric asked.

Perceptive little kid. "Of course I do."

"Then why have we pasted that big painting three times?"

Iris sighed.

"Let's try that staircase there." Eric pointed.

Iris hadn't even seen that one. "All right. Down we go." Iris grabbed a torch off of the wall and followed the dark staircase all the way to the bottom. "Bingo," she said quietly as her torch lit up cells on the far side of the room. The dark, damp smell of dungeons wafted her way, and Iris wrinkled her nose.

"Where are they at?" Eric whispered.

"I don't know, we'll just have to look." With that, Iris started down the rows of cells, shivering a bit at the sight of bones and still human forms in some of them as she held her torch to each cell. Finally, she heard voices, and thought she recognized them. "Miguel?" she called out carefully.

Miguel's ears pricked up, and all the other slayers went quiet. The other slayers glared at him, motioning for him to keep his mouth shut when they recognized her voice.

"Chesta?" Iris called out.

Chesta looked down, keeping his mouth in a firm line.

Iris passed a cell and thought she saw many still shapes in it. She held up her torch and squinted into the cell, recognizing at last the faces of the slayers. "Here you are! Didn't you hear me calling? I was trying to find which cell you were all-" Iris trailed off, seeing the looks she was getting from them. Understanding fell on her like ice water, and she sighed. "Ah. I see. You're all angry with me, is that it?"

"Why would we be angry? You only got us cramped up here in this godforsaken dungeon, with our Captain who know where, getting who-knows-what done to him. I don't know why we can't all still be the best of friends." Gatti spat, standing and walking towards her. 

His eyes were cold, almost as cold as Dilandau's could be. "You think I planned this, don't you?" Iris asked quietly.

"What, you didn't plan to jump out of your melef and run screaming towards the castle, begging for help? It just kinda happened?" Gatti scoffed.

"I know that happens to me all the time," Dalet sneered sarcastically. 

"I didn't plan to involve you all like this. I didn't want this to happen. All I wanted was to get to safety. You all would have gone free. This is the last thing I wanted to happen. I swear it." Iris said. Inside her head, there was a battle going on. _'Why are you explaining yourself to them? You own them nothing. They are the enemy. They deserve this.'_

"Right. Get out of here, princess. These dungeons are much to dirty and smelly for your type." Gatti pushed away from the bars and turned his back on her, walking away.

"Where's Viole?" Eric piped up, not seeing his friend in the dark cell.

"Who knows? He could be in another cell, dying, bleeding to death. Hey, he could all ready be dead for all we know. The same with Dilandau-sama." Gatti raised his shoulders angrily.

"W-what do you mean, bleeding?" Eric asked in a small voice.

"He got the shit beat out of him by the damn Freid soldiers. He's probably a goner." 

"Y-you're wrong. That's impossible." Eric stuttered, his lip beginning to quiver.

"Oh it' more than possible, it's _probable_. I saw him. He wasn't looking like he was ready to jump up and go dancing anytime soon." Gatti laughed a bit insanely.

"Gods, Gatti. Don't talk about him like that. He's our friend." Chesta said quietly.

"Past tense, my friend, for he's undoubtedly only Death's friend now." Gatti chuckled again. 

"Stop it!" Eric cried out. "Viole is fine! He can't be hurt! He's invincible! He told me himself that he was!"

"Eric, hush…" Iris tried to comfort the boy, but she shoved her away.

"What a load of shit. There is no such thing as 'invincible', kid. Best you learn that now." Gatti crouched down close to where Eric was, outside of the bars, and whispered. "You're buddy is probably pushing up daisies by now. And it's all your sister's fucking fault."

Eric's face crumpled, and he began to cry at this. Iris struck her foot against the cell's bars, knocking Gatti, who'd been resting his head against the bars, smiling a bit sadistically at Eric, back onto his haunches.

"You bitch," Gatti sneered and moved fast towards her. He reached his arms between the cell bars and grabbed for her.

Iris grabbed Eric and pulled him back, and all Gatti got was a bit of the material from her dress. He growled in anger and lashed at her again, but could reach no farther. He swore and kicked the cell's bars. Iris just watched him, amazed at how he'd changed in only a few days. He was ruthless, he was barely human. 

Gatti spat at her before backing away from the bars. He hit her in the face, and Iris closed her eyes. She pulled out her handkerchief and wiped her face clean while Gatti smiled at her.

"I'm glad you are in that barred box, Gatti." Iris said, her voice cold and emotionless. "That's exactly where animals like you belong."

Iris grabbed Eric's hand and pulled him away from the cell, and away from Gatti's jeering laughter. Eric cried quietly as Iris walked without knowing where she'd end up. Eric pulled on Iris's arm after a bit. She looked down at his tear-streaked face and felt her heart melt. 

"What is it, honey?" Iris asked, wiping his face dry with her skirt.

"Can we…find Viole, Iris? Please? I want to see him." Eric hiccuped and tried his best to stop crying.

"We can try, Eric. But I have no idea where they would keep an injured prisoner."

"Why don't we ask someone?"

"Well, they might not want us visiting them, Eric. They might believe him to be dangerous."

"Viole is not dangerous!" Eric cried indignantly. "He'd never hurt me or you."

"Eric, I believe you." Iris said, trying to calm the boy by gently skimming his wet cheek with her fingers. "But the king and his men may not." Iris sighed and knelt in front of him, taking his arms in her hands. "Eric, Viole may be your friend, but he is still the enemy. Do you understand that?" Iris asked, berating herself for trying to explain what she disregarded by having feelings for Dilandau.

"He's not the enemy! He never did anything wrong." Eric told Iris, shaking his head.

"Well, yes he did, honey. Don't you remember what happened to our home? To Rolowen?"

"He didn't do that," Eric said, the asked quietly. "Did he?"

Iris nodded sadly. "He helped. All the dragonslayers did. I'm sure he didn't mean anything personal," Iris said quickly as Eric's face began to crumple. "He was ordered to do it. He had no choice."

Eric's tears ran silently down his pale face as this all sank in. "Why didn't he tell me, then? Why didn't he…" Eric lowered his eyebrows angrily and shook out of Iris's grasp. "He lied." He said sadly, then took off down the dark hallway.

"Eric! Eric, come back!" Iris stood and tried to jog after him, but he was all ready out of her sight. She sighed and closed her eyes. It wasn't fair. He was so young, why did he have to be put through this?

Iris walked slowly down the dark and damp hallway, trailing her fingers over the cool stone wall. He fingers touched wood suddenly, and Iris looked to her side to see a door. There was a barred window at the top of the large door, and Iris stood on her tiptoes to look in. She saw a table of some sort, and two nurses blocked her sight to see who lay on it. Her heart beat a bit harder, thinking that perhaps she'd found Dilandau at last. 

She silently told the nurses to bloody move out of her way, and narrowed her eyes in frustration when they didn't heed her silent command. She heard their voices whispering softly, and she strained her ears to try and listen.

"Seems to still be drugged," one of the nurses observed.

"Yes, but shouldn't he be coming out of it buy now? The last drug was administered almost seven hours ago."

"Yes, good point," one of the nurses narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, looking into the patient's dazed eyes and listening to his slow and measured breathing. She waved her hand in font of his face, and even (*shiver*) slapped his cheeks a few times to see if she could get a reaction. The patient merely blinked once, very slowly, and went back to his distant stare.

The nurse sighed and shrugged. "Perhaps he was just extremely susceptible to the drug, because he is still out of it."

"Am I?"

Iris gasped at the male voice and then the world seemed to turn upside down. 

The reaction was immediate. The nurses both scrambled to tie his limbs down and one grabbed a needle that was set on a tray beside his restraining table. Dilandau kicked the table away, sending the syringe and the drug crashing to the floor, shattering the drug and breaking the needle off of the syringe. 

He smiled smugly at the two nurses who stood in shock, staring at him. He shrugged. "Oops," He sprung off of the table then, taking down one of the nurses and banging her head against the floor, immediately knocking her unconscious. The other nurse ran for the door and Iris jumped back. The door flew open and banged against the hallway's wall, knocking the only torch out of it's holder and plunging the entire scene into darkness. Iris gasped and kept herself flattened against the wall, trying to control her breathing and keep quiet.

Iris felt the nurse try and rush past her, but heard dark chuckling and the nurse's scream as she was pulled back into the room. There was a sickening crack as Dilandau snapped the nurse's neck, then a dull thud as he dropped her lifeless body to the floor.

Iris placed a hand to her mouth and tried not to gag. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would soon explode. She strained her and stayed very still, trying not to make a noise. She heard nothing after several minutes of waiting, and eased herself away from the wall, widening her eyes and begging them to adjust to the complete darkness that she was submerged in. She held an unsteady arm out in front of her as she pushed away from the wall, feeling blindly for anything that was in her path.

She felt something.

Iris had barely opened her mouth to gasp when her wrist was seized and she was pulled roughly against a body. Her arms were pinned between her and the body in front of her. A hand descended on her mouth and muffled her cry of surprise.

"Hush, now princess. Can't have you giving away my secret." The man lifted his hand from Iris's mouth.

"Dilandau," Iris said quietly. "What are you-"

"I'm leaving. My slayers and I are leaving, and you, Princess, are our ticket out." Dilandau smirked at her look of shock. He pushed her around, wrenching an arm painfully behind her back. "Let's move."

Iris winced as pain flashed through her arm as it was bent past its normal angle. "Dilandau, don't do this. You don't need me. You proved that in that room, with the nurses. You are perfectly capable of escaping this place on your own. Please…"

Dilandau smirked behind her, and tightened his grip on her arm. "Keep your mouth shut, Princess. I can't listen for guards with you pleading like that."

Iris heard the smile in his voice, and stayed quiet, biding her time. He'd be relaxed in a second, she just had to wait until she felt his hand loosen just a bit…NOW!

Iris threw her elbow back into Dilandau's stomach as soon as his grip had lightened up enough to allow her that movement. Dilandau grunted and doubled over. Iris whirled around and kicked her leg out, taking Dilandau's out from under him. 

She ran then. She ran like hell. Down the dark passageways and past the cells, listening to Dilandau's laughter the entire way. Feelings or not, she refused to be taken back to the Vionne.

Dilandau chuckled as he got to his feet, rubbing the spot in his ribs that would no doubt be black and blue by morning. "So," he said, still smiling. "Now I know where Miguel learned that move." He continued down the passageway, every sense alert. He stopped and pressed himself against the stone wall when he heard voices. He stopped his breathing, and listened for the direction from which they were coming. He recognized them. His slayers.

Dilandau pulled away from the wall and looked around the corner cautiously. '_No guards?'_ he thought, then smirked and shook his head. _'Freid is about to learn a lesson about underestimating a Zaibach warlord.'_

Dilandau jogged past a few cells, and stopped next to the one his slayers occupied.

"Shut up, Dalet," Dilandau heard Chesta hiss. "Didn't you hear that? Someone is coming."

"Well it isn't like our plan is that great anyway. We should discuss it with the damn guard, ask him for his advice." Dalet rolled his eyes sarcastically and went to the front of the cell, looking out and shouting. "Excuse me? Mister guard? We need some advice over here. We were wondering if it would be better to try and escape through the ventilation system and risk being chopped up by the huge metal fans, or to-"

Dilandau kicked the cell bars and knocked Dalet back, shutting him up. "Gods, Dalet. Where in Dragonslayer training did you learn to be such a fucking moron?" he hissed.

Dalet blinked, then stared. "D-Dilandau-sama?"

"So, the moron thing comes and goes? On your feet." Dilandau ordered and Dalet scrambled to right himself. "Shut up, all of you." Dilandau said when the slayers began to ask if he was all right. They quieted immediately and stood straight in a line, all of them at attention. Dilandau smirked at this, pleased by their recognition of his authority even in this situation. He looked them over, then narrowed his eyes. "Where's Viole?"

"We, we don't know sir. We haven't seen him since we were captured." Chesta reported quietly. 

Dilandau swore. Of course it couldn't have been an easy rescue, he thought bitterly. Gods forbid they all be in one spot.

"Do you know if he's alive?" Dilandau asked quickly, remembering the condition he was in during the battle.

"No, sir." Chesta said, lowering his eyes.

Dilandau nodded curtly and appeared to be thinking something over. He bent down and removed the dagger from its sheath in his boot. "Take notes, boys," he said. "Lesson one, breaking out of a cell." Dilandau slammed the tip of his dagger into the lock on the cell and turned it, forcing the dagger in a slow circle. "Freidian metal is soft," Dilandau said, grunting as he continued to turn his dagger. The metal of the lock screeched and made the most awful grinding noises. A few slayers winced while others just gritted their teeth. 

The lock on the cell suddenly popped open, and the cell door swung free. The slayers stood, amazed, and watched dumbly as Dilandau yanked his dagger from the door and blew the metal shavings off of it. He wiped it on the leg of his leather pants, and then returned it to its sheath in his boot. "Lesson two," he continued as the slayers finally snapped out of it and filed out of the cell. He stepped to Dalet and backhanded the brunette swiftly. "Don't act like a dumbass when planning an escape." Dalet reeled a bit, but Miguel caught his arm and Dalet righted himself, his hand under his bleeding nose. Dilandau sneered at him once more, then lead the way out of the dungeon. "Let's go."

*~*~*~*~*

Eric ran until he was completely lost in the dark passages that ran underneath of the Freidian castle. Tears streamed from his big green eyes as he stopped and tried to catch his breath. 

"Viole can't be dead," he whimpered, wiping his nose ferociously. "He's invincible." 

Eric leaned against the wall behind him, and sighed. The wall, however, turned out to be a door, and it swung open, leaving Eric stunned and on his back. Eric coughed and rolled over onto his stomach. Mumbling something about stupid hidden doors and old castles, he stood and brushed his little body off. 

He looked up into the dim room, and squinted at what he saw. A table, a lot of tables. He saw a body lying on the table closest to him. Eric blinked and walked closer in his youthful innocence. His eyes focused on the nearest table and widened as he got closer. The body on the table was breathing in short, painful gasps. Eric got closer, walking slowly, his little heart beating rapidly. He knew it was a man by the sounds he was making; a man in a lot of pain.

"V-Viole?" Eric whispered, hoping. He rounded the table and got close to the man's face.

Eric screamed.

The man's face was missing. In its place was a black charred mess. Eric covered his mouth and backed away from the body, trying not to gag. The man just continued to moan unconsciously. He gasped again when he heard a voice call his name from across the room.

"E-Eric? That…that you, buddy?" a weak voice rasped.

"Viole?" Eric whispered, still shaken.

"Yeah, I'm…ugn…over here…"

Eric walked quickly towards the table that the voice came from. His little hands covered his mouth again when he saw his friend. "Viole," Eric cried. "Gods, your face…"

Viole had a gash above his let eyebrow that was still seeping a bit. His right cheek was blue and green with a large bruise, and his bottom lip was split and bloodied. 

Viole smiled a bit. "If you think my…my face is bad, you should see…ugn…see the rest of me."

Eric smiled and came closer to the table. "You're alive! I knew you wouldn't die! I knew it! You're invincible, just like you said." 

"Invincible," Viole sighed. "Damn straight."

"Gatti said you were dead," Eric mumbled.

"Gatti is an asshole."

"You swear too much," Eric said, smiling as he remembered their last conversation like this.

Viole grinned and winced as he opened his eyes. "You complain too much."

Eric laughed. "I'm happy you're not dead."

"Yeah, well that makes two of us, buddy."

"More than two," a voice came from across the hall.

Viole stiffened immediately, recognizing the voice. "Dilandau-sama," he whispered.

"It's so hard to find good soldiers these days, it would have been a pain for me to search for a replacement." Dilandau walked over to Viole and smirked.

Viole closed his eyes and sighed. Dilandau was there, and everything would be all right now. "I'm sorry, Dilandau-sama," Viole began.

"Save your breath, Viole. From the looks of you you're going to need your energy." Dilandau's red eyes scanned the area for guards, then sighed. "All right, Viole. I need you to get up. We're leaving."

"The others…" Viole started.

"They are waiting for us outside the castle. C'mon, sit up."

"He's hurt," Eric protested, finding his voice.

"I can see that," Dilandau grated out through his teeth, his patience not at its highest level right now, meaning her had less than none. But Viole was all ready moving. He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed that his eyes would not betray him in front of his master and shed tears.

"Now turn towards me," Dilandau instructed. He turned around, his back to Viole. "Get on."

Viole's cheeks flamed red. "I'll walk, Dilandau-sama. You don't have to carry-"

"Your left leg is broken, Viole. You cannot walk fast enough to suit me. Now get on my back before I change my mind and leave you behind." It was an empty threat, Dilandau knew, for he'd never leave one of his own behind, but Viole got the message and slid off of the table and on to Dilandau's back. Dilandau held him under his legs, and headed for the door. 

"Hey! Where are you going with him?" Eric called. "You can't just take him! Bring him back!" Eric began to pursue Dilandau, and Dilandau smiled as he heard the annoying little brat's footsteps behind him. 

Perfect.

Viole hung on, his arms loosely around his captain's neck. He would have felt extremely touched by Dilandau's actions if he hadn't been in so much pain. He gritted his teeth and fought not to whimper with each step that Dilandau took. 

Dilandau shook his silver bangs from his face and looked around the corner cautiously. Seeing no one, he hurried down the passage and finally saw daylight at the end of it. The slayers had found a weak spot in the stone wall there, and had knocked out the stones in order to escape. Dilandau ducked low through the hole so Viole wouldn't be hit, and looked over his shoulder to make sure Eric was still following them. Sure enough, there he was, padding along behind them with a determined look on his small face. 

Dilandau rolled his eyes and chuckled. Viole hissed at Eric to leave, but Dilandau tightened his grip on one of Viole's legs, and Viole hesitated, and just ignored Eric, wondering what his Captain had in mind.

"Dilandau-sama!" he heard a slayer hiss quietly. He turned his head and saw Gatti motioning him inside of one of the melef hangers on the castle grounds.

Looking quickly from side to side, Dilandau jogged towards the hanger and ducked inside. While Miguel and Refina collected Viole off of his back, Dilandau surveyed the hanger. Seven melefs. Some of the slayers would have to double up, and it was obvious Viole couldn't drive one in his condition. 

__

You can't just leave her…

That damn voice was the absolute last thing he needed right now.

__

What are you doing? Just when you finally let yourself care-

"Shut the fuck up, I don't need this or you. I have your goddamned body now, so leave me alone! I will never be a weak female again. Get out of my head! I have to think…" Dilandau took a deep breath and began to pace. He'd gotten himself and his slayers out of the dungeon, and out of the castle. But they were still on castle grounds. He knew it wouldn't be long before their absence was discovered and guards began to pour in left and right. They'd be outnumbered fifty-to-one in seconds. 

He glanced at the guymelefs, scoffing at their uselessness and out-of-date technology. They couldn't even fly, so unless everyone in Freid dropped dead in about five minutes and they could all just walk out of here in the melefs, they were useless to him.

He needed time, a hostage; he needed Iris. But she'd slipped from his hands. He had Eric, that was almost as good, but only if Iris knew he was here, surely she'd be looking for him.

__

Or you.

"What?" Dilandau growled.

__

She may be looking for you.

"Why the hell would she look for me?" Dilandau sighed.

__

She cares for you.

"Right," Dilandau scoffed. "And that's why she ran from me, after just about breaking two of my ribs."

__

She was scared…and so are you.

Dilandau was silent for a moment. There was no point in lying, she was in his goddamned head, so she knew what he was feeling. "I don't know if I can get them out of here," he said quietly, his fist curled tight and resting against his mouth.

__

You can Dilandau. You're strong, be strong. 

"How? What do I do? The guards will be here any fucking minute, and we can't escape in those damn antique melefs. I need more time, I can't plan like this." For a moment, anyone who would have looked in on Dilandau at that exact moment would have seen the true teenage boy that he was. He was scared, unsure, and lost. He felt so alone and out of control.

He was terrified and it angered the hell out of him, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"What's he doing?" Miguel whispered to Chesta as he looked at Dilandau.

"Planning. He always talks aloud while he's planning. Haven't you noticed that? He's working everything out. He'll have our orders in no time. Let's go check on Viole." Chesta turned Miguel away from Dilandau, wanting his Captain to have his privacy.

Dilandau suddenly stiffened and stood up straight. His ears homed in on the area in and around the hanger.

Footsteps. About fifteen or so people. Dilandau sighed and shut his eyes for a brief moment.

So, the Freidian imbeciles had finally noticed.

"Swords," Dilandau called, alerting the slayers to the oncoming attack.

The sound of metal drawing from metal filled the hanger as the dragonslayers prepared for battle. 

"This is it, boys," Dilandau said, positioning himself in front of all his slayers. "We win and we go free, we lose and we die. Zaibach soldiers will never be prisoners twice. Understood?"

A quiet chorus of "Yes Dilandau-sama's" reached his ears and he tightened his grip on his sword.

The door to the hanger opened, and the world exploded into battle cries and clashing swords.


	13. The End

"Eric!" Iris cried. "Eric, where are you? Come out this instant! I mean it, I am not kidding young man!" 

Iris sighed as she walked the halls of the castle. She'd tried being sweet, and now being strict was not getting her anywhere.

"Eric, please," she said softly, mostly to herself as she began to despair. "I just want to know you're safe-" Iris stopped as she heard noises coming from outside. She hurried across the great hallway to the nearest window and pulled aside the heavy drapery to look outside.

Her heart skipped a beat at what she saw.

Soldiers. Freidian guards swarmed from every direction and charged towards a melef hanger in the courtyard of the castle.

"Gods," Iris gasped, realizing that that must be where Dilandau and his slayers were hiding. "They'll be slaughtered."

*~*~*~*~*

Dilandau screamed as he cut down two more soldiers, and tried his best to keep an eye on his soldiers. He'd seen Guimel go down already, and Chesta was backed into a corner with three men around him. Dilandau grunted as he shoved past the three guards that had moved towards him and made his way towards Chesta.

"Chesta!" he called as he walked towards the frightened slayer. 

"D-Dilandau-sama! Ugh," Chesta called back as he parried two swords at a time.

"What is one of the first things I taught you?" Dilandau said as he made his way still closer. He stopped behind Chesta's three attackers and raised his sword, lecturing as he attacked. "Never," he grunted, knocking the sword from the first guard's hands. "Let your enemies," he continued, stabbing the man through the chest and disarming the next guard with a swift kick. "Corner you!" he finished as he yanked his sword from the first man and plunged it deeply into another guard. He kicked his leg up and grabbed his dagger from his boot and reached behind him, stabbing the guard who had tried to attack from behind. He pulled his dagger and his sword out of the two now dead guards and sighed. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and sheathed his dagger back in his boot. "Ever." He raised his sword and tapped Chesta's cheek with it, leaving a small cut.

Chesta could only blink at his master, Dilandau's skill and speed still baffling him. "Y-yes, Dilandau-sama. Thank you."

Dilandau turned from Chesta and yelled for his slayers to stay out in the open where he could see them. "Away from the walls!" he yelled, decapitating a guard to his left. "Use your timing! Attack together and take out more at one time!"

Miguel and Gatti looked at each other. "Count of three?" Miguel asked.

Gatti grinned a bit and gave a sharp nod. No harsh feelings in battle.

"Three!" Miguel said, and they struck down three guards each. They both attacked at the same time, taking the Freidians by surprise.

The Dragonslayers held their own like this, but Dilandau knew, as he lopped of an arm of some soldier who held his blade to Dilandau's neck, that it would not last. They were tiring, he could sense it already. Their attacks slowed, and they struck less accurately. 

"Folken!" He screamed, his focus beginning to slip as he felt a blade pierce his side. He growled and turned, taking the man's head from his shoulders. "Where the fuck are you?!"

_You should be thinking about Iris._

"Why? She's not trying to cut my head off right now. These guards, however, are. I think I'll concentrate on them, ok?" Dilandau sneered at the voice, the girl he now knew as Celena, and relieved another guard of his sword arm. He wiped the blood off of his sword and turned, looking for his next victim.

_You care for her._

"You are really getting repetitive, you know that?"

_You MUST realize your feelings for her!_

Dilandau narrowed his eyes as the voice lost its innocent undertone and became almost vicious. "What do you want?" Dilandau asked, now feeling that this little lost girl in his head was not as naïve and pure as Folken had made her out to be.

_I want my goddamn body back you bastard!_

Dilandau's eyes widened as he felt pain explode inside of his head. He grabbed it between his hands and yelled. He felt as if his head was trying to implode and squeeze his brain out through the cracks. It wasn't a good feeling at all.

"What…are you doing?! S..STOP!" Dilandau screamed, falling to one knee.

"Dilandau-sama!" Miguel cried as he saw Dilandau fall.

_What am I doing? What I've BEEN doing for THIRTEEN YEARS, Dilandau. I'm WAITING! Waiting for you to realize your feelings for Iris! You have to let your heart win this time, Dilandau. You have to. Once you let your heart love, then you'll have admitted human feelings. The Dilandau Albatou that Zaibach created was not made to have human feelings. You'll be weak, weak enough for me to live again! I want to live again, Dilandau! But you are too fucking stubborn! I won't wait anymore. I refuse to be locked away in your sick mind any longer. If you won't let me out, then I'm coming out by FORCE!_

Dilandau shrieked again and fell to his side. He curled into a ball and held onto his head as if it was about to fall off.

"Gods…" Dilandau couldn't catch his breath. The pain was so immense, it was nothing he'd ever felt before. He was sure that his head would explode at any minute. And right about now, he was hoping for that exact thing to happen as soon as possible. Whatever it took to end the pain.

*~*~*~*~*

Eric shook. He watched from his hiding spot as all around him men fell, bloodied and some without their heads on anymore. He backed away from the mess on the floor that he had made. He'd vomited, twice. But he was too scared to be embarrassed about it right now. He turned his head when he heard a frightening scream. He saw Dilandau fall and curl on the floor, still shouting in pain. Eric winced as he watched the warlord tremble. That just scared him more. He crept out of his hiding spot and made his way over to Dilandau.

"Hey," He said, leaning over the shaking warlord. "Are…you ok?"

Dilandau's eyes shot open and Eric could see the horrible pain in them. Eric gasped and stepped back as Dilandau fought to stand up. Dilandau's arm shot out and he grabbed Eric, hauling himself up and taking Eric with him.

"W-What are you doing?" Eric stuttered as his little legs flailed in the air. 

Dilandau tossed him over his shoulder and winced, making his legs work. He climbed up on the shoulder of a melef and brought Eric off of his shoulder, and set him down in front of himself. He put his sword to the little boy's neck, making Eric gasp again.

Dilandau closed his eyes, steeling his nerve and fighting for his focus. He had no idea if this would work, but he had to try. It was their last chance. Forcing Celena's pain back with all his might, he stomped his foot on the melef, creating a loud and echoing sound.

"ENOUGH!" he screamed, his voice cracking with effort. 

All of the Dragonslayers stopped and looked up at him, and most of the Freid guards did as well, taken by surprise by the sight of Dilandau holding his sword to the young prince of Rolowen's throat.

*~*~*~*~*

Iris ran. She didn't know what she was going to do once she got to the battle, but she couldn't care about that right now. Holding her long skirts in her hand, she tore through the courtyard towards the hanger. She could hear the clashing swords within, and the horrific battle cries and screams of pain and fear. 

When she heard one scream in particular, she only ran faster.

She slowed when she got to the hanger and steeled her nerve before looking inside. She peered around the corner and paled at what she saw. Dead bodies and bloodless limbs lay on the ground, and Dilandau stood atop a melef holding his bloodied sword to Eric's neck. Iris's vision swam, she didn't understand what was happening. It was all too much for her senses to take in at once, and her mind threatened to just shut down on her, but she couldn't leave Eric like this. Iris swallowed thickly and walked inside, her eyes never leaving Dilandau and Eric. 

She stood, tears beginning to gather in her eyes, and feelings of hurt and betrayal swimming in them. Dilandau stood with his sword never wavering, and his chest heaving up and down. "Now, I believe that you all know little prince Eric, here, and unless you want to get to know his insides, I suggest you all put your goddamn swords down and back the fuck away from my slayers."

The Freid guards looked around at each other, trying to decide what to do. Suddenly, a ripple effect seemed to go through them as they each noticed Princess Iris's presence. There was no way they could allow Dilandau to hurt Eric while she was here to witness it, so one by one, the cursed and dropped their swords.

Dilandau looked down at the scene, his face a stone smirk, but inside he couldn't believe they were listening to him. Then he saw why, and something inside of him jerked at the sight.

Iris stood looking up at him, disbelief and hurt clear on her face. Her mouth was open a bit, her lower lip trembling. The sides of her face were wet as tears slid down her cheeks and throat. 

"Iris!" Eric spotted his sister in the sea of soldiers and blood on the ground. Dilandau tightened his grip on him and climbed into the melef he stood on, ordering his slayers to do the same. He shoved Eric in, and watched closely as his slayers carried Viole and Guimel into a guymelef with another unhurt slayer. Once they were all safely in, Dilandau ordered them to open the hanger doors.

Once the doors were open, Dilandau spoke through his guymelef's speaker to the Freid guards. "Once I am sure we are not being followed, I will leave the prince unharmed at the edge of the forest. He'll be able to follow our tracks back to the palace. No one is to come for him, is that understood?"

A few Freid guards grudgingly nodded, while others just spat on the ground and got out of the guymelefs' way.

Dilandau glanced once at Iris, then moved forward and ordered his slayers to follow. He forced whatever the feeling in his gut was back down where it had come from. If he let her get to him now, Celena would win. 

*~*~*~*~*

Numb. 

That's the only way that Iris could think to feel right now. Just feel nothing. Just shut down and everything will make sense.

"Nothing makes sense," she whispered to herself as she sank to the floor of the hanger. She was shaking, and her skin felt cold and clammy.

__

'Empty,' she thought. _ 'I'm just empty.'_

She's shown him. She'd shown him her feelings, bared her heart and had even given her first kiss to him. And he took her brother. He brushed her aside like an annoying insect, and took her brother. Again.

She felt hands pulling her up, and felt herself lifted into arms. This didn't register to her as important right now, however. 

__

Hurt, I should feel hurt, she thought. _'Then why am I numb?'_

A half-hour later, a Freidian nursemaid was combing out her wet locks of hair after giving Iris a bath. Iris hadn't uttered a single word the whole time, and had been as lifeless as a doll. She only stared at nothing, and let an occasional tear slip from her eye to her cheek.

"Poor dear," then nurse tsk-tsked as she slipped the comb through Iris's red waves. "You're just too young to be dealing with all this. It just isn't right."

Iris merely blinked in response.

Something was happening inside of her. A slow leak was being filled even slower by something else. Something blacker. 

Rage dripped into her hollow shell as she sat in front of the vanity mirror in her borrowed chambers at the Freid castle. Her hands tightened on her dark plum colored taffeta dress as she became more and more infuriated at the world. 

How dare the Gods continue to torment her like this? What else did they have in mind? Why didn't they just leap from their damn high horses and strike her dead? What had she ever done to deserve this kind of fate? Why did Gaea hate her so?

Fuck them. Fuck the Gods and fuck Gaea. She was going to make her own goddamned fate.

Iris stood and surprised the maid who had just finished plaiting Iris's hair into one long braid down her back. "M-mistress Rolowen, where are you going?" she asked as Iris slipped into her matching slippers and pulled her dagger out of her dresser.

"To get my brother back."

~*~*~*~

Rain. Figures. 

Dilandau and his slayers trudged towards the forest in complete silence. All except for the pained moans from the injured slayers and an occasional whimper from a frightened Eric.

He wiped the wet hair from his ruby eyes and cursed the fact that these melefs were old and outdated and couldn't even keep the rain out. 

Dilandau thought back to what had happened to him at the battle in the hanger. He was furious with whoever the hell was in his head, Celena or whatever. How dare she try and manipulate him like that? No one did that to Dilandau Albatou. No one. The fact that he couldn't kill her because she _was_ him only irritated him further. He had an itch and he couldn't scratch it. Things like that royally pissed him off.

"Dilandau-sama?" a voice asked carefully and broke Dilandau from his thoughts.

"What?" he growled.

"We're at the edge of the forest sir, do you want to put the prisoner here as planned?" Chesta spoke calmly, knowing the slightest edge in his voice would set his master off.

Edge of the forest? Dilandau looked up. So they were. He hadn't realized that they'd been traveling that long.

"Slayers, move twenty paces into the forest and wait for me there, understood?"

"Yes, Dilandau-sama."

Dilandau turned his guymelef around and took it down to its knee, swearing at the grinding and squeaking sounds the old melef made. He opened the cockpit and grabbed Eric, dragging him out and to the ground.

"Follow the trail straight back and you shouldn't have a problem. Got it?" Dilandau began to climb back into the stolen melef when Eric's voice stopped him.

"But-"

"Don't push me kid, I don't know why I'm even letting you live. Shut up and start walking."

"She'll come for me, you know," Eric said, trying his luck. Dilandau stopped his movement. "Iris will come. She always comes for me when she says she will. She'd never leave me alone."

Dilandau closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He heard someone deep inside of his begin to chuckle. No. No feelings. Stop. He focused all of his rage and balled it up inside, and the voice quieted down again. He vaguely wondered how long this would go on.

He turned and smirked at Eric. "Not if she knows what's good for her."

"What would you know about what's good for me?"

Dilandau and Eric turned at the same time.

Iris stood in the middle of the path, soaked and breathing hard. In her shaking hand she clutched her dagger, making to effort to hide it from Dilandau at all.

Once again, the jerking feeling filled his gut, and this time it crept up his torso to spread through his chest as well.

He forced a cold smile onto his face. "Come to kill me, princess?" He turned and leaned his back against the melef.

Iris was not amused. "If that's what it takes. I want my brother back."

"Did you not hear what I said earlier? He'd be returned to you unharmed…if I was not followed." He cocked his eyebrow. "You must not have understood me."

"No deal." Iris said, her face free of any emotion.

"I don't recall offering one." Dilandau said coldly, drawing his sword.

They both moved at the same time. Dilandau lunged for Eric as Iris latched onto his arm and pulled him out of Dilandau's reach. She shoved him behind her, holding her dagger out in front of her. "Go, Eric." She instructed.

"Iris-"

"Eric, go! Turn around and run back to the city." She turned and looked him in the eyes, the look in her own scared Eric. "And I swear to the Gods that if you look back I'll kill you myself."

Eric paled, and backed away from his sister slowly. He turned then, and began to run, and never once looked back over his shoulder.

"Obedient little bastard, isn't he?" Dilandau smirked.

"Shut up! Gods, Dilandau just shut the fuck up!" Iris yelled a bit unstably. Dilandau blinked at her, caught off guard by her reaction. She was breathing rapidly, and she wiped the hair that was plastered to her wet face out of her eyes angrily. "How could you do this to me?" she whispered, her voice small and defeated.

"What are you talking about? I let him live, didn't I? I could have killed him," Dilandau watched Iris carefully, confused by her mood and not able to judge her next move.

Iris chuckled darkly. "Is that supposed to be some sort of favor?" she narrowed her eyes and smiled at him, a sadistic smile that looked odd on her face as she walked nearer to him.

"Iris, go back to Freid. Go back to your heroes. This is the last chance I'm giving you."

"I don't want to go back to them, dammit!" Iris shrieked, waving her dagger wildly. "Are you blind, or just stupid?"

Dilandau narrowed his eyes at that.

Iris stood directly in front of him now. She looked straight into his red orbs and unblinkingly let out the truth that had been hidden inside of her for so long. "I love you, Dilandau. I want to be with you." Iris said slowly. "I don't want to be in Freid, I don't want to be protected, I don't want to be alone. I want…to be…with you." Iris swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment, feeling relieved to have that off of her chest. She opened them again and waited for a reaction from Dilandau.

She got one.

Dilandau winced as if he was in pain. He grabbed his head and pushed her aside as he stumbled forward. The girl in his head had gone completely ape-shit on him. It was as if Iris's words had handed Celena an axe and now she was swinging it like crazy around inside Dilandau's head. 

Celena had found her opportunity when Dilandau was taken unawares by Iris's words. She fought with all her pent up power and anger, pushing to break out of her cage that was Dilandau's mind.

And Dilandau screamed. He shrieked in pain and anger and frustration and fear. It scared Iris. When Dilandau fell to the ground and began to roll in agony, she knelt next to him and tried to pry his hands away from his head.

"Dilandau what's happening? What's happening to you? Please, tell me so I can help!" Iris yelled at him, tears gathering in her eyes as she saw his agony.

__

Yes, Dilandau, tell her so that she can help! Let your ladylove help you, Dilandau, because you can no longer help yourself! You are weak and now it is my turn to live. Goodbye Dilandau, goodbye…

Too much. Too much was happening. He could hear Celena mocking him in his head, and he could feel her trying to push herself to the surface on his mind. He could hear Iris yelling at him and could feel her hands on his face, trying to calm him. He could hear his own cries as well, as Celena's words cut his mind like daggers…

Daggers…his dagger…

He could stop this. It had to stop. He had to stop it.

Stop it, stop it, stop…

"Dilandau," Iris called again. 

"STOP IT!" Dilandau shrieked and sat up quickly.

Suddenly everything was quiet. No voices in his head, no screams coming from his throat, and no pleas coming from Iris.

Iris looked at his eyes. _Blue…_was the only thing she registered. _His eyes aren't blue…what's happening?_

She felt something warm trickle over her thigh and down her knee. She looked down slowly and began to shake.

Dilandau's dagger was imbedded to its hilt into her ribs, and his hand was still closed around it. Iris coughed, her lips suddenly covered in her own red blood.

Dilandau looked down at his hand, at the dagger, then back up to Iris's eyes. 

He looks lost, Iris mused. He looks so lost and confused.

She watched as the blue faded from his eyes and the red pooled back into them, just as her own red essence was pooling around both of them on the rain soaked ground.

"I…am not…weak," Dilandau choked out quietly, his voice shaking just barely. 

Iris placed her hand over his on the dagger and pulled it up to her face. She took quick and painful gasps now, her life slowly fading from her. She kissed his hand, leaving the mark of her lips in her blood.

Dilandau seemed to snap out of the stupor he had been in and yanked his hand away from Iris. His eyes darted down to the dagger in her chest, and recognized it as his own. "Gods…" he looked back up into her face. "You don't understand," he began, suddenly desperate to make it right.

Iris closed her eyes and sank down to the ground on her side. Dilandau caught her and tried his best to support her shoulders. "I-Iris…" he tried again.

"Just stay with me, until…it's over…" Iris whispered, coughing again.

Dilandau looked down at her, his face emotionless again. He nodded.

It didn't take long. Iris's breathing became rapid and erratic. Her body went into spasms and her back arched violently. It then relaxed, and Iris's last breath gurgled out of her, spilling blood out of her mouth and down her cheek.

Dilandau brushed his hand over her face, gently closing her eyes with his fingers.

The skies suddenly opened and lightening screamed out of the sky, igniting trees around Dilandau and Iris. The fire leapt from tree to tree, finally surrounding the warlord and his fallen princess.

Dilandau stared at the fire, suddenly hating it for cutting in on his last seconds with Iris. He stood and screamed at it, he swore at the flames until his throat was raw and bloody. Still he damned it, cursing every little spark that fell into the clearing. Finally exhausted, Dilandau dropped to his knees in the clearing, and passed out. Only then, when he was unconscious, did one tear escape from beneath his eyelid. 

And all around him, the fire raged hot.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Epilogue

The slayers had gotten worried after a while and had gone back to look for him. The rain had put out the fire in the trees by then, and all that could be found was ashes and mud. 

They found Dilandau sitting on a fallen tree stump. He sat with his elbow resting on his knee, and his hand fisted and supporting his head. His eyes stared straight ahead and never moved, barely ever blinked. 

Chesta was the first to hop out of his melef. He approached Dilandau carefully, trying to gauge his mood. "Dilandau-sama? Is everything all ri-"

A cry suddenly rang out from Miguel's melef and Chesta and the others turned towards it to see him jump from the cockpit and run towards the middle of the clearing. He fell to his knees beside Iris and lifted her head out of the mud, cradling it in his lap. 

Chesta followed and so did Dallet, the injured slayers craning their necks to see what had happened. 

Before they could get there, Miguel had removed the dagger that still protruded from Iris's chest and stood. He knew whose dagger it was, and he turned towards Dilandau, his eyes full of confusion and anger. 

The other slayers saw the dagger as well, and recognized it. They all stood before him, waiting for an answer and praying for any acknowledgement at all. It frightened them that their leader looked so…lost.

Miguel stood in the middle of the group, Dilandau's dagger in his hand. "Dilandau-sama?" he asked quietly.

Dilandau's eyes flickered up to him. Miguel held up the dagger in silent questioning and Dilandau lowered his eyes again.

"I had no choice. She gave me no choice. She was a weakness that I couldn't afford." He looked up into the faces of his slayers. It may have hurt him to see the accusations and anger in their eyes if he could feel. But he couldn't. He pushed himself to his feet and looked at his slayers again, who didn't move. "It was her or me," he growled, daring anyone to challenge his story.

The slayers all lowered their eyes from their leader.

Dilandau scowled in disgust. "Let's go. Move."

The slayers followed their leader and climbed back into their melefs. All of them except Miguel. He stood in front of Dilandau's melef, beside the fallen Princess Iris.

"Are you just going to leave her here?" He demanded angrily.

Dilandau's eyes snapped up at Miguel, but Miguel didn't flinch.

"Her brother will come for her." He said quietly and began to climb into his melef. Miguel looked down at Iris and took deep breaths, fighting back his emotions. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, whispering goodbye in her ear before he turned and climbed into his own melef.

"Let's go home." Dilandau's weary voice echoed through his melef and the others acknowledged it with a chorus of quiet "Yes, Dilandau-sama" 's and followed their leader out of the forest.

The Vionne was located and came for them as promised. Later that evening, Dilandau sat in his room, an empty bottle and a half-full bottle of Vino on the table next to him. He cast a glance towards the broken mirror in the corner of his room. He saw only his face, not half his and half Celena's but his whole face stared back at him, lifeless and stone cold as Iris was.

The thought made him cringe and he took a deep swig from the bottle on his table. 

A knock at his door startled him, and he set his bottle down.

"What is it?" he called, his voice still not carrying the authority and edge it normally did.

"May I come in, sir?" Miguel's voice came from behind the sliding metal door, as monotone and emotionless as Dilandau.

Dilandau closed his eyes and sighed. "Come in," he finally answered.

Miguel walked into the room silently, and held something out to Dilandau. Dilandau opened his eyes and looked at Miguel curiously. Miguel just gestured with the hand that was extended to Dilandau, not quite meeting his master's eyes. Dilandau took what Miguel held out to him.

His dagger.

Miguel turned to leave, but hesitated when he heard Dilandau's voice call out to him softly.

"I'm sorry, Miguel."

Miguel turned and looked at his leader. "So am I," he said quietly back, and exited Dilandau's room.

****

~*~*~*~7 years later~*~*~*~

"No, move it over to the left, there, that's good. Thank you, Benason, it's beautiful. You captured her perfectly."

"Oh, your highness is too kind!" the young artist blushed.

"You are truly a wonder. My servants shall give you your pay on your way out. Thank you again, my friend. You don't know what this means to me."

The artist placed the painting where his king had requested and bowed before turning to leave.

The king stared at the picture and sighed. She truly was beautiful, he thought. 

__

Just like mother.

It had been a long and hard climb back, but Rolowen lived again. She was rebuilt and more glorious than ever. The palace sparkled on its hill as it overlooked the city below like a proud and watchful parent.

King Eric looked around his new throne room with pride and awe. The new palace was nearly twice the size of the original. 

Although, the walls were not purple…

Eric chuckled as he remembered when Iris always used to tease him and tell him when she was queen she'd paint all the walls purple and all the ceilings pink, and make him live in a 'girly' castle.

"Your Highness, the people are assembled to hear you speak," an Advisor bowed and delivered news to Eric.

"Thank you, Refan. I'll be there in a moment." Eric took one last look around before starting down the steps. He chuckled again. 

__

Sorry, Iris, but perhaps I'll put out some purple throw rugs for you…

Eric grinned before greeting his people and took one last glance at the smiling portrait of his older sister, knowing that if she were there, she'd have cuffed him over his head for a comment like that.

__

~*~*~*The End*~*~*~


End file.
